Thank you
by QN's number one fan
Summary: Nanami Haruka has graduated from the Saotome Academy despite her left eye being blind and her right ear deaf. But she's not all that happy. She doesn't have anyone to be with just because of her physical state, she fears other people, and what's worse is that she has to interact with her so called seniors. But will she come to realize that not all people are the same? Haruka x QN
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is my first ever fanfic so... Please bear with me. I don't think I'll be able to update this everyday since I have school... But yeah of course I'll update it so... Yeah. I'm a QN addict just saying so... I'm not going to make any fanfic about Starish... Just saying in case... you know... yeah. So... Enjoy!**

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Haruka's POV

I can't believe I got into the Shining Agency. Honestly, I wasn't really sure if I would make it or not. I have been home schooled for about 17 years by my grandmother. She was the best ever.

Why was I being home schooled?

Because my left eye's blind and my right ear's deaf.

People from the usual kind of school kept on bullying me which resulted to me having a lot of bruises. Next was because the school for "special" people didn't accept me. I felt really bad for my grandmother. I was causing her so much trouble. And one other thing problematic about me was... I had very frail health. I was more fragile than most. I wasn't even allowed to live in the city. That's how fragile and sensitive I was. And so to make it easier for my grandmother since we live in the country side and most of the time have to travel by train really far, I asked her if she could just teach me. And she was very happy with the idea. She even taught me how to play the piano. Ever since she revealed to me what music was, I immediately loved it. That's why, when I turned 17, I asked her if I could go to this academy that specializes in performing arts and she allowed me to.

The academy is called Saotome Academy by the way. I was really happy when I got accepted and especially since it was the A class. Although I enjoyed music, I didn't know how to read notes before during the first few days of my academy life. And because of that...

Rumors began to start.

Although I taught my self and thankfully immediately knew how to. But that didn't change anything though. I was still alone and I wasn't surprised. I was expecting my self to be alone anyway. But I managed to graduate and made my debut as a composer. And now I am currently in the Master Course. It's a course provided for newly debuted idols and composers to improve themselves first and prove that they deserve to be professionals. Although I was happy with this, my grandmother just passed away not too long after my debut. That's why, I still feel depressed. I also heard from my adviser, Tsukimiya Ringo-sensei that I have seniors who will be helping me with work and all of that. And that was another thing that was a bit... Negative on my part. Speaking of my seniors, I'm not sure if I'm ready to meet them.

'Oh... What if they don't like me or my songs? What if I'm useless to them? What if...' I kept on thinking of negative "what ifs" and almost forgot that I was going to meet my seniors at 2 pm. And I only had 5 minutes left. "O my! I'm going to be late!" I exclaimed to myself as I tried fixing my hair and got my bag as I rushed out of my room.

When I got to the designated place, I found no one, which relieved me to no end. I sighed happily. "Thank goodness I'm not late..." I said to my self as I headed towards the piano. I slowly lifted the keys' cover and gently stroked one of the white keys. I sat down and thought of playing a melody. 'But my seniors might be here any minute...' I thought debating with myself. So I just decided to hum a melody. I just recently heard this song and have come to like it. It's called "Last Song". I forgot who sang it though. The song is quite old. Moments later, I started playing it on the piano.

When I was done playing the song, I heard an applause coming from the door. I looked to my left and saw 4 charming looking men.

There was one with brown hair who was the shortest among the four and was the one applauding, one with gray hair who looks a bit scary, one with teal and an emotionless face, and one with very pale blonde hair and somehow also looks scary. My eyes widened for a second then looked away in embarrassment. My head followed and I bent my head down. I was never applauded by anyone before except for my grandmother and adviser. I don't even know who he or who any of them are. Moments later, I heard footsteps getting louder and louder. My heartbeat raised.

'They're approaching me?! W-why?!' I thought while panicking. I slowly looked up ever so slightly only to meet a pair of silver-colored eyes.

"That was beautiful kouhai-chan!" The man with brown hair said. "W-wha?" I silently questioned. 'K-kouhai-chan?' I asked myself. I straightened myself to face them completely. I was about to ask him what he meant by that but was too afraid. 'But I have to ask him or I'll never know.' I said encouraging myself to ask him. I was just about to speak when he suddenly spoke again. "We're your seniors kouhai-chan." He said with a wide grin on his face. My heart felt like stopping. 'Oh no...' I thought to myself gulping in the process. 'I don't think I can do this...' I was shocked of course. I was more afraid of men than women. And it just so happens that I have to be working with a group of men.

"Y-you guys... Are my... seniors?"

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**Tada~! Ok not really but... Yeah that's the first chapter. Please review! But I'm not forcing you to. So I won't murder you or anything. I WILL murder you if you steal QN from me. Ok? See ya!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again! So, the only reason why I was able to update it this fast was because I had no school work. ;) But I won't be able to update this everyday so… I'm sorry! This is the second chapter so please, enjoy! **

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Haruka's POV

"Y-you guys… Are my… Seniors?"

I quietly asked them in fear and shock. "Yup! That's us! Nice to meet you kouhai-chan! Or should I say… Ruka-chan!" he exclaimed in a very cheerful voice and a close-eyed smile on his face. I looked at him in question and fear of what would happen next. His eyes opened and he smiled for a moment. Then, when he noticed my expression, his smile faded and turned into a questioning look. His head was slightly tilted as well.

"What's wrong Ruka-chan? Your name is Nanami Haruka, right? So, I will call you Ruka-chan!" he said, answering my unsaid question. "Don't you like it?" he added. My eyes relaxed a little bit. But it was only _a little. _The shock and embarrassment on my face was still quite evident. But nevertheless, I rapidly shook my head as a response to his latest question. "N-no… that wasn't what I meant. Y-you can call me… whatever you want. I-it's very nice to meet you, by the way." I said in the most relaxed way possible. But I still stuttered. 'I have a feeling he's going to get mad now.' I thought to myself as I mentally prepared myself for emotional and probably physical pain. I looked down on my feet and waited for something to happen. I waited… but nothing happened. I looked up ever so slightly to see the expression on his face. And I saw no trace of anger whatsoever. Only question.

"Ruka-chan… are you _really_ ok? You look really pale… Ah! You must be nervous. Well, don't be! We don't bite. These guys may look scary… and they can be a little harsh sometimes. But, once you get to know them, they're not that bad." he said with a… _soft _smile on his face while pointing to his three other companions.. I couldn't understand any of this. He was being kind to me… _Me! _It was unbelievable.

'Why is he so kind to me? Could this be an act? No… it couldn't possibly be. It seems so real. Maybe I was too judgmental. All people couldn't possibly be the same. My teachers were kind to me. So, why didn't I think of anyone else being kind or… decent, at least. I really should be giving people the benefit of the doubt. Or else, I would probably just end up offending them or hurting their feelings.'

I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice him calling me. 'I don't even know their names yet…' My trail of thought continued until I heard a loud voice scream my name, and the back and forth movement of my shoulders.

"-ka-chan! Ruka-chan? Ruka-chan!"

My head immediately shot up, and my trail of thought cut. It took me a second to realize that his hands were on my shoulders and his face was only an _inch _away from mine. I gasped at the closeness between his face and mine. My cheeks, no. my whole face was probably redder than a tomato by then.

"Ruka-chan… hehe. You're so cute! You were spacing out. I just wanted to apologize for not introducing ourselves sooner. Hehe… sorry. By the way, I'm Kotobuki Reiji." he said a moment after he let go of my shoulders. He pointed to the man with gray hair and said, "This is Kurosaki Ranmaru."

Next, he pointed to the man… or should I say _boy _with teal hair. "This here, is Mikaze Ai." he said before pointing to the last out of his three companions.

"And this is Camus." he said with a wide grin on his face. I bowed, as to say "a pleasure to meet you". But somehow, their looks made me stiffen again. Which, Kotobuki-senpai noticed. I directed my eyes at him, and he smiled before saying…

"Now now Ruka-chan. I told you. _Relax. _You'll do great. And don't worry about these guys. They'll come to love you sometime. We're looking forward to working with you!"

And with that, we all sat down and planned on talking a little about each other.

_Which I wasn't really looking forward to._

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_**Yeah! Go Haru! Sorry if it was short… hehe. ^_^ Erm… you can review… again. If you want to that is. I'll probably post the third chapter soon so… Until then, bye-bye!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! So… third chapter… yeah. _ I think this'll be kinda short but… I'll try my best to post two new chapters today so… here's the third chapter! Enjoy!**

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Haruka's POV

'No… please… I don't want to sit down and talk about work. Sure, I'll have to talk to them sometime but… not now. I'm not mentally prepared. I might get a mental block. I might space out again. I might stutter. I might make them angry. I might… I might…!'

I thought to myself as I headed for the couch in the practice room. My heart was beating like crazy. I felt like I was about to faint.

I was thinking about lot of things during my very very short trip to the couch. I was so engrossed with what I was thinking about that I didn't even notice that I was already sitting on the couch. Nor did I notice Kotobuki-senpai call out to me. And he called out to me more than once.

"Ruka-chan? Ruka-chan… Ruka-chaaaan. Ruka-chan!" said the familiar voice that was calling me. The moment I came back to my senses, I looked up and saw Kotobuki-senpai and Kurosaki-senpai _across_ from me.

'E-eh? Why are they across from me?' I asked myself. In my mind, of course. Then I looked to my left, then right and saw Mikaze-senpai on my left and Camus-senpai on my right. That's when I realized… I was already sitting one of the couch.

'Oh no… I spaced out again. I was afraid this would happen… and this is my first day meeting them! Their first impression of me is _definitely not _good.'

I thought, speaking and getting angry with myself once again. I tilted my head down for a few moments. Then tilted it up a little since… I was planning to apologize. I looked at Kotobuki-senpai and Kurosaki-senpai for half a second, and did the same with Mikaze-senpai and Camus-senpai. Then I tilted my head down again before saying:

"I-… I'm very sorry for spacing out all the time. I guess I am just… nervous."

'I hope my voice was loud enough to be heard.' I thought to myself. Hoping and praying that they heard it. I directed my eyes to Kotobuki-senpai and saw him…

'_Smiling?' _I questioned in my mind. 'Why is he smiling? He's not… angry?'

I looked up and raised my head a little bit more, exposing a face with question written all over it. With a bit of worry as well. A few more moments of silence past until Kotobuki-senpai spoke.

"Ruka-chan, are you expecting us to become angry with you? We understand that you're nervous… and that's normal. It's normal to think about a lot of things when you're nervous. But… don't think too much, ok? I did tell you to _relax._ just tell us if you're not comfortable with anything, k?" he said, trying to let me loosen up a little.

"O-oh… uh… then, thank you, Kotobuki-senpai." I said, trying to show even the slightest sign that I've loosened up a little. I tried to smile, hoping it would make Kotobuki-senpai satisfied..

"You're very welcome Ruka-chan." he replied, showing one of his close-eyed smiles again. Just when I was supposed to let down a little bit of weight from my shoulders, Kurosaki-senpai spoke.

"Reiji, why in the world do you like "babying" her so much? She's not some kid on her first day in school. If you make her get used to your "babying", she'll never learn to grow up."

Ok, now that made my whole body stiffen. I guess I would make them mad after all. So much for _relaxing. _

"Ran-Ran! I'm not "_babying" _her. I'm trying to make her feel _comfortable. _And what you're saying will not make her comfortable at all! So please, Ran-Ran, be nice." Kotobuki-senpai said, making Kurosaki-senpai grunt in annoyance.

"What do you call making her 'ask help whenever she needs it' huh? She can help herself Reiji. She can make her own self comfortable. Fine. I don't care if you baby her. But don't say that _we _are going to help her with everything she needs help with." Kurosaki-senpai argued, making Kotobuki-senpai raise his voice as well.

"Ran-Ran, why are even called 'seniors' if we're not going to help her with _anything_?! Don't be mean Ran-Ran. You don't even know why she doesn't have that much confidence in herself!"

_'No... please no. I don't want you guys to argue...'_ I thought.

"_You _don't know whether she's even faking it or not! You know nothing about her! Tell me, do you know _anything _about her? No, you don't! So shut up!"

_'Please... please... calm down'_

"Neither do _you _know anything about her! You don't know whether she's been through something horrible for her to become like this! You don't know whether-"

_'Please stop it... it's my fault... shout at me... not each other.'_

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?! I don't care about being her senior 'cause I didn't sign up for this! I don't give a shiz about her either! What makes you think I wanted to be her senior let alone work together with her in the first place?! I never even wanted to be part of this group! If it wasn't for me being a member of this group, I wouldn't be her senior!"

_'What am I saying? I couldn't even do anything. I'm useless...'_

"That's enough you fools! Shut your mouths! Kotobuki, do you even understand Kurosaki's point? You're not suppose to help her with things she can handle. She's old enough to be independent. And just because the woman is our junior, doesn't mean we have to treat her equally or even close to equal treatment. This woman doesn't deserve our respect or help." Camus-senpai said, stopping the other two seniors from arguing.

'I really am... _nothing_.'

My body was as still as a rock, except for the trembling. I was trembling in fear, sadness, and shock. My chest felt so tight I couldn't breathe. My eyes hurt, and were swelling up because of the held back tears. I didn't want to cry. Not in front of them. I just wanted to excuse myself and go to my dorm. I wanted to be alone.

'Why is it that every time I hear something that hurts me, it's like my right ear wasn't even deaf? And when I see something so horrifying, it's like my left eye wasn't even blind? No… I don't want to bear it anymore. I have to leave. I just have to.'

I thought to myself while holding back the tears. I have made my mind up. I was going to excuse myself and just think of an excuse when I meet with them tomorrow. I was just about to say something, thinking, 'Hopefully they won't notice.' when I was cut off by Kotobuki-senpai. 'Oh no… they were still on with the argument.' I thought, panicking.

"Myu-chan! Don't say things like that about her! Especially in front of her! She'll get hurt…"

"Does it look like we care?" Kurosaki-senpai answered. Now was the time for me to leave. I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I needed to be alone. I needed freedom. I needed _air._

"Yes… and she needs to know this." Camus-senpai added. Right after that line, I felt eyes watching from every direction each of my seniors were in. I was tempted to look up and take advantage of the silence. But it didn't last long.

"Myu-chan please. Stop. Just stop hurting her already. Ai-Ai, say something. Tell them to stop."

After that, another moment of silence took place. All were awaiting his response… _except me._ A sigh was then heard in the quiet room we were in. but even though it was quiet, it just made their past words sound even louder. After sighing, Mikaze-senpai spoke.

"Alright. I will say something. But I'm not going to counter what Ranmaru and Camus said because my thoughts are the same. My data says that she really doesn't need or deserve the amount of help you're willing to give her. She has proved herself that she doesn't need help. She's old enough to be responsible for her own responsibilities. But it's up to you whether you really want to help that much. But we don't. Also, it's not like she'll think about the… somehow insulting words we've said to her if she doesn't want to recall them. And, why would she even be affected? We haven't even interacted with her for that long."

My eyes started to widen it's widest width. I couldn't explain my own emotions.

_'Why? Why am I like this? Wh-'_

"So don't you dare even try relying on us… Nanami." Kurosaki-senpai said to me. I knew he would get mad if I didn't reply so I nodded.

"Ran-Ra-"

"Also, speak when you need to. Especially when replying to someone else. Do you understand?" Camus-senpai said after cutting Kotobuki-senpai off.

"Myu-chan, you didn't have to say it like that. Ruka-chan, he means-"

"Hold your tongue you fool. Do you understand?" Camus-senpai said, repeating his question while cutting Kotobuki-senpai off yet again. I didn't answer at first. No, I _couldn't _answer at first. So I just simply nodded. But then, he got angry.

"Woman, I told you to _speak _when you reply to us." he said in a very scary tone. It was a half-scream, actually. I was hurt enough. I just really couldn't say anything. I really couldn't.

'_He dislikes me so much that he doesn't even want to say my name…'_

I thought to myself. Although, I shouldn't have because that just made more tears form. I was already crying. I couldn't prevent them from falling. I couldn't stay strong enough to not cry. I couldn't do _anything _but listen to their words stab through my very soul. I was planning to reply when Mikaze-senpai spoke first. And yes, his words were also directed to me.

"You should show respect to your seniors Haruka. And one way to show respect is by replying… _verbally._"

"Ai-Ai you didn't have to-"

"Just say a friggin' yes. Don't pretend that you're hurt with what we all said. You probably don't even care. Hmph… no wonder you were spacing out a lot."

"Wha-"

"Reiji, be quiet." Mikaze-senpai said, Kotobuki-senpai being interrupted… _again_.

That was it. That was my limit. I was planning to reply and excuse myself… _immediately. "_Before all my tears fall… I have to reply… I _have _to… _now." _And I did just that. I replied, hoping he would hear it and not notice the shakiness in my voice.

"Y-yes… I-I understand." I said, fearing the upcoming response I am bound to get. Of course, Camus-senpai was the one who responded.

"Hmph… so you can speak"

"I think you guys hurt her enough. Ruka-chan, are you ok? I'm so sorry they said all of that… I really am. And I'm sorry that… there was nothing I could do." Kotobuki-senpai said as he quietly approached me then patted my head.

"_I'm sorry." _he said one last time. I made this my chance to excuse my self. Although… I really do appreciate all of the things Kotobuki-senpai has done for me. So I decided to thank him.

"I-it's alright, senpai… M-may I… b-be excused now?" I asked him, looking up at him as I tried to force a close-eyed smile in the process.

"Sure. Hey, were you crying a while ago? The sides of your eyes are red." he asked, sounding concerned. I was really thankful for meeting him, for what he said and did today. That's why, as a part of my thanks, I tried to smile… for him.

"Oh, no. I-I wasn't crying. Hehe… th-this is… normal when my eyes are tired. They become red. Oh uh… I'll be… t-taking my leave now, I-if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't. and I'm sure _they _have nothing to say as well. See ya tomorrow then. Get a lot of rest ok? We don't want your eyes getting red again now, do we?" he replied, smiling at me softly yet again as he led me to the door with his hands on my shoulders. I was about to take a step out when I decided to say good-bye to the rest of my seniors. So I bowed in their direction and said a very soft 'good bye' before rushing out the door. I was still on the verge of crying, and felt like crying right there and then when I saw the looks on their faces.

They were _emotionless. _

But still, it was my fault. Them getting mad at me, at Kotobuki-senpai… it was all… _my fault. _I wasn't suppose to get hurt. And yet, why did I feel like crying? I never understood why… I was so weak. Physically, emotionally, mentally, and even socially. But I couldn't think of all that here. I'll just end up crying in front of them, which I don't want. So when I got out the door, I bowed to Kotobuki-senpai and started the journey to my dorm. But moments later, I heard Kotobuki-senpai call my name and I instantly felt a grip around my wrist.

"One last time Ruka-chan… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. And please… next time, don't fake a smile. It'll just make you feel hurt even more, ok?" he said, bringing my hand to his forehead. I was embarrassed with the physical contact, but I couldn't really show it right now.

'_I should be the one apologizing…' _I thought.

"I-it really is ok… Kotobuki-senpai. And… I'll t-try… not to fake any of my smiles." I said, and he smiled in return. He slowly put my hand back down and let it go. Before turning away, he grinned at me and said a small 'bye'. I watched him turn away from me and start his journey back to the practice room.

"_I'm so sorry… thank you." _

I said softly, but probably was loud enough for him to hear. I was hoping he didn't though. He stopped in his tracks, and without a second thought, I ran towards the direction of my dorm… _crying. _

'I-I can finally let out… all of my tears.'

I thought to myself as I opened the door to my dormitory. When I got inside, I immediately collapsed onto the floor, buried my face in between my embraced knees, while letting out a shaky sigh, and warm, uncontrollable tears.

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**Okay!… I'm not that good with drama so… I'm sorry. Hehe… yeah… I guess it was long enough. It was, wasn't it? It wasn't that short... right?^_^? Please review! That's all for now, bye-bye! XD**


	4. Chapter 4

**Heya! _ So, here****'s the fourth chapter! Yeah... Sorry for the late update. ^_^**

**Oh yeah, and I just realized I never got to say no offense to people who are fans of Starish since... I said I wouldn't make any fanfics about them in the note in the first chapter so... PEACE! I'm just... Not a fan. Hehe... So much for that, hope you enjoy this chapter! _ **

**Oh and, I don't own the anime or the characters. Only the plot of this story. They all belong to themselves and Broccoli. ^_^ ; )**

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Haruka's POV

Getting up became a challenge for me. A _very _hard challenge. I couldn't move a single inch. I couldn't see, couldn't hear. I felt absolutely nothing _but_ the coldness of my dorm's floor. I've been crying for about two hours or more. Moments after, I cried myself to sleep. And when I woke up, nothing changed. I still felt just as _useless _and _miserable. _I never even knew how long I've been unconscious. Well...

I bet it wouldn't even matter anyway.

'It's not like anyone would come looking for me any time sooner... Or any time at all.' I thought "unconsciously". It was true though. Bitter as it may seem, it was a _fact. _I found _no_ _reason _for me to stand up and make myself feel alive. And I wanted to keep it that way.

Slowly, I started regaining my right eye's sight. It was dark. Very dark. It almost seemed like it darkness was closing in. In fact, it really was. I could see some traces of the sunset coming from my glass windows. However, it made no difference. To me, the world looked _pitch black. _I've always tried looking at the positive side of everything. I really did. But...

I knew I could never do it for long.

Out of all the painful things I've heard from other people, _their _words affected me the most. Why, you ask? I wouldn't know. I never really understood my purpose of being here, alive in the first place.

'Why... Why did their words... Affect me the most?'

I asked myself without making a single sound. I tried to make my brain process an answer to my own question, and yet, nothing came to mind. Knowing my brain had _no chance _of functioning properly for the time being, I gave up. Staring at particularly nothing instead. Just when I was going to bury my face in between my face once again, a thought popped up.

'I'm getting weaker and weaker by the minute, no, _second._'

That was probably my conscience saying what I've known for a long time. It was right. That was probably why I was becoming more sensitive.

I knew very well that was the reason for my very immediate and long-lasting depression. The _only _reason I've known ever since pre-school.

_But my heart begged to differ. _

I was hurt, and I knew that. I _felt _it. I felt fear, and shame for myself as well. Though I also knew that I've _never _felt _this _depressed and hurt before. I had that one simple yet complicated question in my mind:

_Why?_

And as I once again tried to think of an answer to that question, a _huge _wave of thoughts came washing over me. I panicked.

'There's going to be a high chance of experiencing the same kind of pain _everyday._'

'The pain will _without doubt _increase.'

'_Never _have I heard such heart-stabbing words from a person... No, a _group _of people'

'I'm unwanted and _always will _be.'

'_I never __**deserved **__anything good anyway.'_

That last thought was all it took for me to remember all that _they _said in a very detailed manner. Although, the _extremely_ painful words were the ones that kept repeating in my head. And that's when I realized...

They were right.

"_... __I don't care about being her senior 'cause I didn't sign up for this! I don't give a shiz about her either! What makes you think I wanted to be her senior let alone work together with her in the first place?!__..."_

"_... This woman doesn't deserve our respect or help."_

"_... __Also, it's not like she'll think about the… somehow insulting words we've said to her if she doesn't want to recall them. And, why would she even be affected? We haven't even interacted with her for that long.__"_

It was then, I started tearing up again while breathing heavily. I tried calming down, but it was no use. Those words... Those sentences... Were as loud as all the loud things combined. My head was throbbing, and my heartbeat was so fast it felt like it was going to leap out of my chest _any second. _

'_If only I could show more appreciation to Kotobuki-senpai's words... He wouldn't have to get hurt just because of my weak-willingness.' _

I tried pondering over Kotobuki-senpai's heart-warming words... But it just couldn't take away the negative things in thought.

In the end, I couldn't take it anymore. I was bruised enough already. So there was only one thing I could do. And I really did do it.

I passed out.

Reiji's POV

I was sitting on my bed, pondering on what Ruka-chan just said before she slowly disappeared, leaving her out of sight. "I'm sorry, thank you." was what I heard her say. I wasn't sure if it was correct though.

Then I started thinking hardly on why she apologized to me.

'Why in the world would she _apologize _to me? She didn't even do anything wrong. _They _should be the ones apologizing to _her_. So... Why?' I nonverbally asked myself.

I tried to recall exactly what happened a few hours ago, but didn't see any reason for her to apologize to me. I only ended up remembering the "discussion" I had with them after Ruka-chan went back to her dorm. And it wasn't a very good one.

_**Flashback:**_

_After finishing my trip back to the practice room, I stood by the door for a moment, thinking of the right words to say. Then, I stepped in. I walked towards the piano and sat on the stool before saying "You. Guys. Apologize. NOW." _

_Silence was the reply I got._

"_I mean it the three of you." I warned._

_And right after I said that, I was shot by three very piercing glares. I wasn't surprised though. I sighed. That was when I put on my extremely serious face that I __**rarely **__use. But I was sure they were expecting this._

"_And __**we**__ also mean it." Ran-Ran replied, as he sharpened his glare. Myu-chan started setting aside the teacup he was drinking from a few moments after and slightly turned his head to my direction. _

_He said, "Give us one good reason on why we should apologize to her." _

_I became silent for a moment, because I had an extremely bad feeling this answer wasn't going satisfy him or __**any **__of them. But I said it anyway, hoping this would somehow make them realize that what they did was __**super **__wrong._

"_Because... You didn't even give her a chance to say anything. You-" I got cut off by Ai-Ai as I was trying to start explaining my point further. Well... I was expecting this._

'_I knew something like this was going to happen.' I immediately thought._

"_Reiji, we already talked about this a while ago. And you probably didn't notice, but we gave her a chance to speak, and she didn't."_

"_Ai-Ai, you don't expect her to say that much during the first meeting. There was nothing else to say aside from "Hi, nice to meet you". What are you saying Ai-Ai? That's not even what I'm talking about. I'm talking about her proving herself to you guys that she is very much __**capable**__ of seeing, hearing, and doing stuff like composing!"_

"_Yes, I know she's __**capable**__ of doing such things. But not doing the certain action you have to do is useless even if you do know how to do it. In other words, she should have showed that she could support herself __**without **__anyone having to speak for her."_

"_What, y__ou think she's lazy? You don't know __**anything **__about her! Why would you-"_

"_She __**will **__become lazy if you still think about "babying" her!"_

_Just then, a thought full of sarcasm formed in my head. And that was probably because I was getting really angry._

'_This is just great. My attempt to __**nicely **__talk with them and tell them to apologize to Ruka-chan is gone now. And now it even turned into an argument. This is just a repetition of what happened a while ago! Man... Can this get any worse?' _

"_**Ranmaru**__, for the last time, I __**wasn't **__"babying" her. I was trying to __**help **__her and make her feel __**comfortable. **__There's a difference! Why in the world would you think she's lazy?! If she was, she wouldn't have made it this far, __**on her own**__!"_

"_Why the hell would she seem so __**out of this world **__despite us trying to make her speak for herself, huh?!"_

"_She was nervous Ranmaru!"_

"_You think I care?! You think we care?! All we care about is what __**we're **__doing for a living! I don't care about whether she works with us or not! Although, it would be better if she didn't."_

"_I... I don't get you guys. I really don't. Why... Why are you saying stuff like that? I mean... Why?"_

_By this time, I was expecting even Myu-chan to join the argument. And I was right. _

"_It's because we don't take it easy on people who don't need to be taken easy on. That woman should just accept the criticisms we gave her and try improving herself."_

"_Those were not criticisms Camus! Those were __**insults**__! Why would you think those would help her improve herself if all you gave her were insults?! You were __**supposed **__to make her comfortable! You were supposed to acknowledge her for showing up at least!"_

"_I already told you I found no reason to give her my respect, you fool! What more my acknowledgment?!"_

_I couldn't take anymore of this argument. So I became silent for a few moments and tried calming down. I deeply sighed before saying what I wanted to say in the __**calmest **__way possible. _

"_Tell me, Camus. And this is a question for you too, Ai, Ranmaru. __**Why **__in the world did you ever think she didn't deserve your acknowledgments and respect? __**WHY**__?"_

"_We answered that question already, Reiji." Ai answered. That wasn't really the answer I was expecting. But nonetheless, this argument was still on. And that didn't make me feel any better. _

_I sighed, __**again**__, before saying, "Haven't you guys __**ever**__ thought about the fact that you __**DON"T KNOW A SINGLE THING ABOUT HER**__? Haven't you ever heard of __**conscience**__? You immediately judged her without even giving her a second chance by at least being __**civil **__with her so that she'll be comfortable enough to work with us. You know that's not the right thing to do, and yet, you did just that. You guys hurt her feelings for __**no apparent reason**__. You guys don't even have the right to get mad at her, even though you're her seniors. Just because you guys don't know what it feels like to be nervous and un-confident. I don't even think you guys __**have **__conscience."_

_Silence was followed after my mini-speech. I thought I at least put some sense into those heads of theirs..._

_But __**no**__. They just __**had **__to be persistent._

"_And you think you know __**EVERY SINGLE THING ABOUT HER**__?! We don't give a shiz about your conscience whatever! We. Don't. __**CARE. **__About her. So why don't you just __**get the friggin' out of here**__ or I'm getting out! On second thought... I'm getting out of here. I never cared about any of your __**lectures **__anyway." _

"_I will NOT let you get out of here until you __**honestly **__say to me that you will apologize to Ruka-chan!"_

"_I wouldn't even lie about apologizing to her or to anyone in this whole good-for-nothing universe! And __**you **__don't have the right to boss me around!"_

"_Apologize to her. RIGHT NOW. THIS VERY SECOND."_

"_Didn't I just tell you you DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO BOSS ME AROUND?! If you're looking for a fight then BRING IT ON!"_

"_I'M TRYING TO BE CIVIL HERE! You don't know how much I want to punch you right now because YOU SURE DESERVE ONE!"_

"_This is not the time for you two to be fighting, nor will it ever be." Ai suddenly said, breaking the dangerous tension between me and Ranmaru. I felt relieved because of that. The last thing I wanted was having a fist-fight with him._

'_Thank goodness he at least thought of calming us down a little.' _

"_The two of you really are foolish peasants." Camus commented. And I couldn't help but agree with him. _

"_Reiji,we will apologize to Haruka when she deserves it." Ai unemotionally announced. I was so happy yet discontented at the same time. _

'_They __**still **__think she doesn't deserve anything good?' I complained, in my mind of course. If I were to say it aloud, the argument would have continued. Then I just realized something. Ai just mentioned it now, after __**all**__ the other things have been said._

"_Wait a minute... Why did you just say that now?! If you would have said that __**before **__all those stuff happened, they wouldn't have happened!"_

_A sigh was then heard from both Ai and Camus who both sighed in unison. Camus was the first to speak. And I was expecting him to call me a fool._

"_On the contrary. That argument still would push through because of your unnecessary questions, Kotobuki."_

_But he didn't._

"_E-eh? But they were necessary Myu-chan!"_

"_No they weren't you peasant."_

_He called me a peasant instead. Well, I still wasn't surprised._

"_Yeah they were!"_

"_No Reiji. They weren't." Ai-Ai answered._

"_But they were necessary! I had to know why you guys treated her so cruelly when she didn't even do anything to you guys!" I whined in a half-playful manner. But I was still serious about it._

_After a few brief moments, Ran-Ran sighed. Yeah... There were __**a lot **__of sighs. Well, they were better than shouts and glares._

"_If you at least __**paid attention **__to what we were saying a while back, you wouldn't need to ask those things." Ran-Ran said, still sounding angry from the argument that just happened. And I knew he'd be. That's why I just gave up and hoped for the best to come. I really wanted Ruka-chan to be happy with us. I wanted her to smile... For real._

"_But I was paying attention! How could I not when those things you guys said to her were really harsh? But... Okay, fine. She will surely earn herself apologies from you guys. You will apologize when she does... Right?" I asked, hoping for their answer to be yes._

_I looked at Ai-Ai with hopeful eyes. He returned the look with narrowed and... Somehow annoyed eyes. Then, he closed them right after. _

"_Yes Reiji, we will apologize..." Ai-Ai replied as he opened his eyes. Just when I felt so happy my whole body straightened, he spoke again._

"_... __**Maybe**__." _

_My shoulders immediately slumped down._

"_M-maybe? But why?"_

"_Geez Reiji, why do have so much questions?!" Ran-Ran complainingly asked._

"_Because! Because... I want to know why... Your apologies won't be certain."_

"_What if she never deserves it?"_

"_Ran-Ran! I told you, you __**don't **__know __**anything **__about her. So don't say anything like that."_

"_Hmph. Whatever."_

"_Hey Myu-chan, you'll apologize to her too, right?" I said asking him. He shot me a glare first then exclaimed an audible 'hmph' before answering. 'Man these people are scary.' I thought. _

"_Stop being persistent, you fool. You think I'd be any different? I will__apologize to her... __**Only if **__she deserves my apology." I sighed happily as I heard his reply. But then a thought came to mind. And it was a good thing I didn't say it._

'_But she __**already **__deserves it.'_

"_Ok! Now that you guys said you'll __**probably **__apologize to her, I can rest in peace!" I exclaimed happily. Ran-Ran immediately reacted to this. Well... The __**first **__one to react at least. Ai-Ai was next, followed by Myu-chan. _

"_What in the wold Reiji? What are you, a soul that's not at peace?"_

"_You never make any sense."_

"_Shut your mouth and just go back to your dorm you fool. It's not like you have any other business to attend to while I still have many things to accomplish. So, if you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving now." _

"_Ok! Bye!" I said waving exaggeratedly as he walked out of the room, ignoring me in the process. _

"_I'll be going back to my dorm as well." he unemotionally announced. _

"_K! See ya Ai-Ai!" I replied, waving. And I was ignored by him too. Ran-Ran followed him as he walked out the door without another word._

"_Bye Ran-Ran!" I shouted, making him grunt. _

"_I was expecting that. Hehe..." I softly said to myself._

_After they left, I __**was**__ planning on heading back to my dorm as well, when I ended up walking towards the piano instead. I opened the keys' cover and stroked one of the white keys. Upon doing so, I immediately thought of Ruka-chan. I wanted to see how she was doing, but I knew she would want to be alone so I had no choice but to wait for tomorrow. It was weird how I just met her a few hours ago and I'm already worried and thinking about her this much. It feels like I was, no, __**we**__, the whole QUARTET NIGHT group was meant to meet her. It feels like... We were __**meant to be friends with her**__. Hai... _

'_Fate is so hard to understand.' I thought to myself, sighing._

_I knew she was capable of changing the four of us with her kindness, and we were capable of making her more confident and happy in life. So I was set on making those three apologize to her and make amends in order for us becoming friends with her a possibility. It may seem... Weird since I just met her, but she already feels like a little sister to me, or maybe more than that._

_I really hoped for her to come to the practice room tomorrow, so that maybe, just maybe, something good will happen between us and her. I was quite fond of thinking of her, her silky-looking orange hair, those bright, green eyes, that cute look she has when she's embarrassed. And I was really... Erm... How do I say this... __**Desperate**__ to see her __**real **__smile. I bet that it would be the most beautiful thing in the world. _

"_Hey wait a minute... I sound like I have a crush on her! OH MY GOSH! ALREADY?! No, no, no, no, NO! I can't, it's too... Well... I do believe in "love at first sight". But still! No... I don't have a crush on her yet. Wait... __**YET? WHAT?!**__"_

'_What in the world am I saying to myself?!' I shouted at myself... In my mind. _

_By that time, there was already something __**extremely **__wrong with me, so I decided to head back to my dorm __**once and for all**__. I walked out the door, on the route back to my dorm, still having Ruka-chan in my head. I sighed inwardly._

'_Oh Ruka-chan, I do hope you're okay.'_

_**End of flashback**_

As the flashback in my mind ended, I plopped down on my bed, back facing down, as I once again, **daydreamed **Ruka-chan. And I felt like such a creep.

When I was trying to keep Ruka-chan out of my mind a little bit to give my weird self a break, I heard the front door open.

'Guess they're back.' I thought.

Moments later, I heard a familiar voice call out to me, and saw two familiar figures enter the room.

"Rei-chan! We're back!"

"Hey you two!" I shouted back in reply.

* * *

**Ok that was long... For me at least. ^_^ Sorry again for the late update.. Hehe ^_^ Please forgive me. TT_TT Hope you enjoyed! Again... Sorry since, I'm not good with drama. Please review! Of course, if you want to that is. :) Until then, bye-bye!**

* * *

QUARTET NIGHT: Bye-bye!/Bye./Hm.

Reiji: You guys! Be more enthusiastic!

Ranmaru/Ai/Camus: Shut up/Be quiet Reiji/Shut your mouth, peasant.

Reiji: Huhu... Ruka-chan, help! They're bullying me! *hugs Haruka while crying a river*

Haruka: Um... Hehe... Er... K-Kotobuki-senpai?

Ai: Ignore him Haruka.

Ranmaru: Leave him.

Camus: Hmph. Don't help that fool who's embracing you.

Reiji: Why are you guys so mean?! Huhu...

Haruka: Uh... Um... Bye-bye! Please excuse us. K-Kotobuki-senpai...

Reiji: I'm coming... *sniffs*

Ranmaru: Oh please.

Ai: *poker face*

Camus: What a fool...

Me: Hehe... ^_^


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! So, here****'s the fifth chapter! ^_^ Sorry if the story's getting a little weird and... Overly dramatic. Hehe... I know it's unusual for Haruka to be this unenthusiastic but, what can I say? I'm fond of dramatic and somehow sad stories. _ But... I know... She's out of character. I had to do that because I made her past a bit more different than in the anime and game. Hope you guys understand! :) Although it's weird... Well anyway, enjoy! :)**

**Again, I don't own any of the characters. :P I want to own QN though... Joke! Ok, joke. Please have a happy time reading. ^_^**

* * *

Reiji's POV

"Hey you two!" I greeted, as the two familiar figures walked in through my dorm's front door.

"So, what did you guys do?" I excitedly asked.

"Aren't you supposed to know that already?" the dark blue-haired guy answered. I pouted at his words.

This here, is Ichinose Tokiya,. Or as I like to call him, Tokki, one of my juniors. And as you can see, he's downright serious. He's also really quiet, somehow mature, and stiff. But of course, Ran-Ran, Ai-Ai, and Myu-chan are... More serious. In other words, he's nothing like me.

"But Tokki! I forgot... And I'm not like Ai-Ai and Myu-chan who take note of their juniors' schedules! Plus... I have quite a lot of things in my mind right now." I replied in a playful whining tone. Except for the last sentence since, that made me think of Ruka-chan and if she was doing okay. After hearing my reply, he sighed, crossed his eyebrows, and immediately admitted defeat. I grinned at the sight.

"Yeah Tokiya. Give Rei-chan a break!" my other junior with red colored hair exclaim.

"We didn't do much. We just had a photo shoot, and rehearsed for a show we're in." he said, continuing what he was previously saying. He's Ittoki Otoya by the way. Or Otoyan. That's how I call him. He's the opposite of Tokki. Cheerful, most of the time hyper, happy-go-lucky, pretty much relaxed and a lot like me. Of course, he's younger than me so he's more... _Innocent_. I wasn't sure about Tokki though.

"Awesome! You guys are in a show?"

"Yup! First we're going to entertain the audience for a bit, then they're going to interview us, then we,ll get to talk to some of the people from the audience personally! This is my first time being in something like this so I'm really excited! But I'm nervous too."

"That's okay Otoya! Everybody gets nervous. Right, Tokki?

"Hm... I suppose so. But you shouldn't feel nervous anymore, Otoya. You're supposed to be a professional idol."

"Tokki! Just because you're emo..."

"I am not emo."

"Yeah you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are.'

"No. I'm not."

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not! Do you even know what emo means?"

"Of course I do!"

"Okay then. What does it mean?"

" "It" is a word you use in a sentence that pertains to an object or thing."

"Pfft..."

"Shush Otoya. I meant the word "emo"."

"Pfft... O-oh... Why didn't you say so Tokki? Geez... You're not so smart after all. Pfft... Ahahahahaha!"

"Ugh... I'm going to continue doing my work."

"Hahahahaha...! Good one Rei-chan!"

"Hehehe... I know you're not emo Tokki. You're just really stiff." I said as my laughter and Otoyan's died down. As Tokki continued to work, me and Otoyan talked about idol concerns and other things while annoying Tokki in the process. He would tell us to keep quiet from time to time, but we would just laugh. In the middle of a conversation, Otoyan suddenly brought up a somehow... Sensitive topic.

"Oh yeah, Rei-chan?" he started.

"Hm?'

"Heard you have a composer now. Is it true?"

"Yup! She's so cute! Kind too."

"She?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing..."

"Hmm...? Are you interested in her?" I teasingly asked.

"N-no! I didn't mean it that way!" he exclaimed with a slight blush on his face.

"Really now?"

"Y-yeah!"

"Okay then."

"What's her name?"

"Nanami Haruka. She's kinda shy, but she's a very nice person. I would've loved to see her smile if... Hai... _They_ didn't scare her."

"They? You mean the other seniors?"

"Yup."

"They scared her? Why?"

"They thought she wasn't "worthy" of being our composer."

Silenced was heard moments after I said that. By that time, Tokki was already half-facing us and listening our conversation. Although my head was down, I could see their faces. They probably felt bad for Ruka-chan.

"How mean... I wonder why they thought that..."

"I wonder the same thing."

"You don't know the reason?"

"It's not that I don't know them, I just don't _understand _them. They even got mad at her... And it just had to be on her first day too."

"No wonder Ren and Syo said they heard you arguing with the rest of the seniors." Tokki suddenly said. My eyes widened at the statement.

"Wh-what?" I shakily asked.

"Yeah. They said they heard you arguing about someone, and that someone was a 'her'." Otoyan said, answering my question.

"Were you arguing with them because of their opinions on your new composer?"

"They weren't opinions Tokki. They were _unnecessary judgments_. We were arguing because I told them to apologize to her for _unreasonably _getting mad at her, but they didn't want to."

"So... What happened in the end?" Otoyan asked.

"In the end? They told me they'd _probably _apologize _if _she earns their apologies."

"Earns their apologies? How is she going to do that?"

"Well... She's going to have to earn their respect first by showing her capabilities, especially in composing."

"I do hope they apologize to her... She must feel extremely hurt."

"Yeah... I think so too. By the way, you guys came home pretty late. Why?"

"Oh... Hehe... I decided to visit my orphanage after work, and asked Tokiya to come with me. The kids didn't want us to leave so we were there for quite sometime."

"Ugh. Please don't remind me of that time." Tokki said, closing his eyes in irritation.

"C'mon Tokiya! You enjoyed playing with them didn't you?"

"Of course I didn't."

"Tokiya!"

"Be quiet Otoya. It's already dark out."

"But you're such a liar!"

"Okay fine. Maybe I _did _enjoy being with them a little. Does that satisfy you?"

"Yay! I did see you smile at the kids you know, you know."

"Hai... Okay okay. Now be quiet so that I can finish this." Tokki said before going back to becoming completely silent. I was relieved I still got a good laugh from Otoyan and Tokki's mini-argument despite the things that have happened today. Although, I was starting to become nervous for what was to come tomorrow when I meet up with them again, especially Ruka-chan. I didn't want her to cry again. But I had to worry about that tomorrow morning for me to get at least eight hours of sleep.

After a few more moments of chatting with Otoyan, I decided to start preparing for bed. I decided to tell the other two to sleep as well.

"I think it's time for me to get some shut-eye. You guys should get ready for bed too."

"Mm! I'm pretty tired from all that tag and hide-and-seek." Otoyan said as he let out a long yawn. I looked at Tokki to see if he heard what I said and he nodded. He stood up from behind his desk, switched off his study lamp, and headed for the bathroom. After getting out, dressed in his sleeping clothes, he headed for his bed which was the downer part of the bunk bed, tucked himself in, and went to sleep.

Otoyan did the same after he was done with the bathroom, which makes me the last one to hit the sheets. I was tired, yet I found it hard to fall asleep because of the anxiety I was feeling at that moment. Flashbacks of the arguments I had were shown in my head. But it was mostly filled with thoughts of Ruka-chan. I kept on seeing her pained face and hearing her soft and shaky voice. And I couldn't help but play the last words she said to me in my head over and over again. At first, that was the reason why I couldn't sleep. But in the end, that became the reason why I fell asleep. Hearing her shaky, soft, yet soothing voice.

'I'm probably going to dream of her too aren't I?' was my last thought before I slowly began to drift off to sleepy land.

Haruka's POV

After waking up from passing out for the second time, I finally had enough strength to get up and walk. I felt pathetic, and I really was. I never even knew why I questioned the things my seniors told me.

'Who would even want to _look_ at someone like me? Too weak to do anything, too much of a coward, and too un-confident. I don't think I even deserve to breathe the same air as everybody else.' I thought to myself as I headed for my alarm clock to look at the time.

'11:30' it said. It was really late, and I was starving. Well, who else would I blame for this aside from myself? It was no use just standing there looking more pathetic than I already was, so I got a glass of milk and made myself a sandwich. After eating, I changed my clothes and put on my pajamas, but I didn't sleep. More like I _couldn't_. I felt tired, although somehow I thought I had enough sleep for the day. So I decided to start making a new composition.

I thought it would be a good idea to start the song for my seniors, but nothing came to mind. All I could think of were sad melodies. I tried to think of a worthy enough song for them, but it was no use. So instead, I tried to think of a way to seem at least _a little bit worthy _of working with my seniors.

I tried to encourage myself by thinking that if I start respecting them more and working harder, they'll at least accept me as a composer. I didn't really think of much to say, but I was able to muster up at least a little bit of confidence for tomorrow.

In the end, after trying to think of a way for me to avoid upsetting my seniors, I fell asleep at 4 am. I wasn't planning to go to sleep, but all that thinking and worrying probably tired my brain out.

"I hope I won't be late... Tomorrow." I softly said before my eyes completely shut close.

* * *

**Next day**

I felt like I've been sleeping for hours, and really didn't mind it. Until I remembered that I still had to meet up with my seniors. At that moment, I bolted up from my previous lying position and immediately checked the time.

'12:50'

"E-EHHHH?! It's this late already?!" I exclaimed to myself in panick.

"Oh my... I have to get dressed! No, I have to brush my teeth. No wait no! I have to take a bath. No! I have to brush my teeth, then take a bath. Yeah..." I said, as I rushed to the bathroom. I had one hour and ten minutes until it was time for me to meet my seniors yet again. I was nervous, _really _nervous. But I promised myself I'd do my best to not upset... Or _hurt_ any of my seniors. Although, I was one of those people who tend to _over think _things, _especially _when nervous. And because my tendency to do just that...

I spaced out during my so called "rushed" bath.

"Oh my gosh! I ended up taking a bath for thirty minutes! Oh no oh no oh no oh NO! I need to hurry!" I exclaimed as I _tried _to brush my hair while brushing my teeth and putting on my under garments then putting my towel back on again. It was a bit weird, and somehow impossible, but I was able to do it successfully. After, I put on a blue-colored dress with white polka dots and my red high-heeled shoes.

'Oh my... I only have ten minutes left!' I screamed in my head as I looked at my wall clock. I didn't want to eat anymore since I was going to be late. But then I thought that I might go hungry and lose my concentration so I ended up making myself another sandwich like last night and ate it on-the-go. I was about to head for the door when I realized that I forgot to get my bag. I hurriedly went back in to get it then rushed out the door. It was a good thing I remembered to close it.

'I hope I'm not late...' I thought to myself as I ran down the stairs directing to the way of the practice room with a sandwich in hand. It was a long way down, and I even had to pass the men's dormitory. Yes, the _men's dormitory. _And because of that...

_I bumped into my seniors on the way down._

I didn't notice them because of my extreme worry for being late. Until that is, when Kotobuki-senpai called out to me.

"Ruka-chan?" a voice said.

'That voice sounds familiar...' I thought, abruptly stopping and looking back, wondering who called me.

The moment the faces I saw, and _who they were exactly_, registered into mind, my breathing and heartbeat came to a total stop. I was shocked, nervous, and afraid of what they would say. That was _not _a good scenario to present to seniors who don't particularly like you.

"K-Kotobuki-senpai, K-Kurosaki-senpai, Mikaze-s-senpai, C-Camus-senpai..." I whispered, looking up with widened eyes. My legs becoming jelly like in the process.

"Ruka-chan! Good morning! Hm? Why do you have a sandwich with you?" Kotobuki-senpai asked with a slightly tilted head and a smile on his face. His smile was beyond beautiful... Or handsome. I loved it when he smiled, and somehow, I was hoping I could make the rest of my seniors smile one day.

But that day _surely_ wasn't today.

Kurosaki-senpai looked annoyed and irritated, having a scowl on his face. While Mikaze-senpai looked emotionless, but looked disappointed. And Camus-senpai looked like he was questioning my sense of responsibility, since he had one eyebrow raised. And I bet he really was.

I was scared of what was to come if I didn't answer Kotobuki-senpai, so I did what I could to conceal my fear and replied with the most honest smile I could wear, and replied with the most relaxed voice I could use.

"G-good morning... Uh... I... Woke up a little late. S-so, I decided to eat my breakfast g-going to the practice room."

Kotobuki-senpai chuckled lightly, before replying, "Oh, I see. Are you sure that's all you wanna eat?"

I nodded.

"Well then, let's go to the practice room _together!" _he exclaimed, cheerfulness evident in his tone. I, on the other hand, was terribly nervous with the idea of walking to the practice room with them. But, decided to go on with the flow anyway. I was about to nod in agreement when Mikaze-senpai suddenly asked me something. And that question just happened to make whole body stiffen the second I heard it.

"Haruka, why did you wake up late? And what time exactly?"

As I said, my body stiffened. When my body stiffens, I become unable to speak properly, but able to somehow "hear clearly" even though my right ear was deaf. Because of my inability to speak properly, I wasn't able to reply to his questions. I ended up saying this instead:

"I... Uh... I'm so sorry! I-I'll be going ahead!"

I then ran as fast as I could going to the practice room. And when I got there, I collapsed onto the floor. Sighing, I buried my face in my hands and silently scolded myself.

'Oh... That was _not _a satisfying greeting, and _obviously not _a satisfying answer. What was I thinking?'

Reiji's POV

"Ai-Ai! You didn't have to ask that question... And in a scary tone at that." I said, scolding one of my band mates.

"Waking up late is not something a responsible person should do, a _working _responsible person at that." he replied, giving me one of his half-irritated, half-unemotional looks.

"Not that she really is responsible." Ran-Ran added, making his way to the practice room followed by Myu-chan.

"Wha- Ran-Ran! Why would you say that? I thought you were going to give her a chance?" I whined, trying to catch up to the rest of them.

And when I did, Ran-Ran glared at me as he replied, "I never said anything like that. I only said that I would apologize to her if she deserves it. And right now, I don't think she's ever going to deserve it."

I became silent for a second, until I finally blurted out my complaint.

"I'm going to be frank with you guys, okay? How does someone even _try to deserve _an apology? I mean, you don't do something to deserve an apology. You _really deserve one _whatever you do, when someone does something to hurt you. And that's exactly what you did to her! But... Fine. If she has to _earn apologies _from you guys just for her to feel better, I won't complain anymore."

And with that, I went ahead of those three going to the practice room. When I got there though, I saw Ruka-chan beside the door, sitting on the floor with her face buried in her hands.

"Ruka-chan?" I called out, approaching her slowly, crouching down to try and see if I can get a glimpse of her face. I put a hand on her shoulder as I called out to her once again.

"Ruka-chan..." Her shoulders stiffened as my hand made contact with hers, but soon started to relax when I started to speak in the most comforting voice I could use.

"It's Rei-chan. I'm really sorry for what Ai-Ai asked back there, and for the looks they gave you. You didn't have to run away. I was there, so they wouldn't say anything to you. And even if they were to, I'd still be there to defend you."

I paused for a second to see if she'll react. I didn't receive any reaction so I continued.

"If you think I'm "babying" you, I'm not. I'm just trying to comfort you, and encourage you to have more confidence in yourself. I know their attitudes make you feel nervous and weak, and I apologize for not being able to do anything about it. Although I will always be here when you need me, this is something only you can do. And I know you can do it. So please, lift your head so I can see that cute face of yours. Everything's going to be alright. You'll change those hearts for the better, and they'll accept you for who you are one day. I'm sure of it. But, until then, bear with them, okay?"

A few moments of silence past, before she was able to show her face to me.

"I... I'm sorry, Kotobuki-senpai. I just... I was afraid of them... Getting mad at me. I never meant to upset them again, I... I actually wanted to speak with them properly this time. I know it may seem unbelievable, but they were right. I never did deserve anyone's acceptance or respect. I don't deserve your kindness either." she said in a soft and shaky voice. I didn't want her to say stuff like that to herself. I wanted her to be happy. I would do anything, and use all the good and comforting words in the world to make her at least a bit more confident each and every day.

"What are you saying? Of course you do. You've done nothing wrong. You've never made anybody upset. And... I believe you when you say you want to speak. I'm sure they believe you too, at least a little bit. Right you guys?" I asked, looking at the three figures by the door.

I received no reply, so I stood up, preparing to say something when Ruka-chan suddenly stood up, holding my hand ever so lightly while shaking her head. She looked up, revealing her big, bright, and beautiful green eyes which suppressed tears and held determination. She let go of my hand and slowly walked towards her other seniors. I was nervous and worried of what would happen, yet, I couldn't help but smile at her kindness towards those people who have _purposely_ hurt her feelings for no reason whatsoever.

"I... I'm s-sorry... Very sorry for being irresponsible and waking up late. I'm sorry for not showing any respect yesterday. I'm sorry for not reaching any of your expectations. I'm sorry for not showing any confidence in myself. I'm sorry for... _Being who I am right now_. Please, forgive me. And please don't be angry with Kotobuki-senpai anymore. It was all my doing anyway. Get mad at me, not him. I deserve it."

I wanted to stay quiet, but I just couldn't. I was about to disagree with her words of self blame yet again when she raised her head, and continued what she was saying a while ago.

'If only she knows how happy I am for her, and how confident she looks.' I thought, feeling a mixture of sadness and happiness.

"I may not deserve anything good now, but someday for sure. I'll be able to reach your expectations, and make you all... Happy. Even you, Kotobuki-senpai..." she said, directing her eyes at me for a brief moment. My eyes widened at that statement. I wasn't expecting that.

'She... Wants to make _me_ happy as well?' I thought, repeating the words she said in my head.

"...So please, let me prove that I am capable of doing something."

I looked at the three she was facing, surprised to see that they looked surprised themselves. I smiled, feeling happier than ever. And there was one more thing she said to finish that beautiful speech of hers.

"You may not believe me now. Well... You don't have to. But please, allow me to work with you!"

After ending her "speech", she straightened herself. Well... _tried _to. She still had her head down though.

'Looks like she really isn't used to expressing herself through speaking. Poor Ruka-chan... She looks like she's about to faint. But... ' My "inner voice" said, stopping, I continued my sentence verbally.

"...You did well, Ruka-chan." I whispered to myself.

They didn't say anything at first. But Ruka-chan still waited for a response or a reaction at least. And finally, Ai-Ai said something, followed by Myu-chan.

"Just make sure to wake up earlier so that you won't have to rush in the morning."

"Yes. And don't make yourself say that much you fool. Doing what you have to do properly and in the right time is enough for us to be satisfied. But, you still have to show us your abilities. So don't think saying things like that to us is enough."

She nodded in response.

It was a good thing Myu-chan didn't demand for a verbal response this time.

I wasn't expecting Ran-Ran to say anything, but he did. And his words were _very _surprising.

"As of now, I have no reason to believe in you. But... I'm giving you a chance to make me believe in you and your words."

"Awwww... Ran-Ran's blushing." I said teasingly. Well... He was looking away, how else was I supposed to react?

"Shut up."

"Admit it, you like her."

"Shut up!"

"Ruka-chan~! Ran-Ran's being mean to me!" I whined, playfully hiding behind Ruka-chan.

"Be quiet you fool." said Myu-chan as he and Ai-Ai headed for the couches. We were about to head there as well when Ai-Ai called out to Ruka-can and asked her a question.

"Haruka, have you started the song yet?"

She stiffened a little, but tried to relax herself as she replied, "No... I haven't. I'm sorry. But I will once we're done with this. I'm sorry... again."

Ai-Ai nodded in response.

'Phew... Good thing he didn't get mad.' I thought, feeling relieved.

"Then we'll just have to talk about what to do for the song. Right, Ruka-chan?" I asked cheerfully as I lead her to the couches. She looked at me with slightly widened eyes for a few moments, but smiled a very small yet beautiful smile as she nodded in response.

I smiled back, feeling relieved that she's okay now.

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**Okay****! That was longer than expected... But anyway, hope you enjoyed it! _ I... Don't really have to ask for a review, do I? ^_^? Oh, and please forgive me for the sudden change in mood. I tried to make Haru-chan as optimistic as possible so... Yeah. I think the next chapter will be depressing again so this is served as a break from all the drama I've put up for the last few chapters. See ya next time! (not that I actually see you guys...) Bye-bye! ; )**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! Good... Whatever time it is in your place. ;) Dadarara tatata****! Well... At least I think it goes like that. But anyway... The sixth chapter! _ I did say in the previous chapter's note that this'll be dramatic but... It won't be. Hehe... ^_^ I forgot to think about some stuff before the drama comes so... That's why I said that. PEACE. :) Oh, and sorry for the late update! ^_^ I was kinda busy. But anyway, that doesn't matter so here's the sixth chapter****! Please have fun while reading. ;)**

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Haruka's POV

I couldn't believe what was happening. My seniors have just decided to give me a chance! This current feeling I felt, I wasn't able to put into words, not even one. I felt all hyper and bubbly. I felt so hopeful and... _Alive. _The feeling was familiar and somehow... _Nostalgic. _I've felt it before, I knew the word was at the tip of my tongue. But... I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"_Just make sure to wake up earlier so that you won't have to rush in the morning."_

"_... But, you still have to show us your abilities. So don't think saying things like that to us is enough."_

"_... I'm giving you a chance to make me believe in you and your words."_

And the result of that lead me to spacing out again. Kotobuki-senpai was now trying to get my head off the clouds by calling out my name and waving one of his hands in front of my face.

"Ruka-chan. Ruka-chan~. Ruka-chan? Ruka-chan!"

"Wha-?! I... Huh?"

"Hehehe... Silly Ruka-chan. You were spacing out again. Now what were you thinking of? Hm?" he asked half-teasingly.

"I... I'm sorry. I just... Uh... Er... I'm... No... I'm...! Uh..." I tried to think of a simple answer that will express my feelings but, I just wasn't able to. I thought harder, and harder. But, nothing came to mind. Then, suddenly, Kotobuki-senpai said a word he thought would probably explain my current emotion. My eyes then widened in surprise. I mentioned it before... yet I couldn't think of it then. I wondered why.

"You're... Happy?"

"I... I'm... Not sure." I replied.

"So you _are _happy." he stated with a bright smile on his face after a few moments. I didn't know what to answer at first, but then I suddenly remembered what my grandmother used to say to me starting from when I was a child. I missed that kind and gentle voice of hers... Remembering her and the memories we created were still painful for me. And hearing her sweet voice in my head would still bring me to tears from time to time. But, I was thankful for having remembered those kind words she spoke to me.

"_Oh Haru-chan... You smile at the smallest of things. You appreciate every little thing a person does for you. And you should be proud of that. Not everyone is blessed with a heart like yours. I love you Haru-chan, and always will."_

And at that moment, I was able to recall what extreme happiness felt like. It really did feel a lot like this.

"I... Yes. I guess I'm... Happy." I finally answered, unconsciously sniffing in the process.

"Hey... Are you crying?" I heard Kotobuki-senpai ask. I didn't know what he was talking about until I felt something wet on the back of my hand. It was a tear drop. Slowly, I brought my hand up to my face and felt tears streaming down on it. I immediately wiped them off after the current situation registered into my mind. I tried to make them stop, but, they just wouldn't stop falling. Feeling a little embarrassed, I apologized for suddenly crying.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't know what got to me. I... I'm s-sorry... I... I don't now why... I'm crying. I really am s-sorry."

And in a blink of an eye, Kotobuki-senpai was at my side, gently stroking my hair while asking me what was wrong. I said they were tears of joy, hoping they wouldn't notice I was lying. None of them believed me though.

"Ruka-chan... These aren't tears of joy, and I'm sure of that. Please tell us the truth. Why are you crying? Are you feeling okay? Does something in your body hurt?"

I wanted to continue saying that they really were tears of joy, but I knew they still wouldn't believe me so in the end, I told them the real reason why, and briefly explained the story behind it, despite still having tears flowing from my eyes.

"N-no. I'm alright. I... I was just wondering if I really did feel happy because, I haven't really felt this much happiness in a while. But then... I remembered my grandmother, and the memories of what we did together. I had very frail health as a child, and I still do now, so I was sent to the country side by my parents to live with my grandmother. They would come visit us every weekend since they couldn't on weekdays because they had work. Though one day, they didn't visit us at the country side. We waited, thought they were too busy to come on Saturday. It was July 6, if I'm not mistakened. But the next day, my grandmother got a letter from a hospital saying that my parents just passed away due to a car crash the night before. And ever since then, my grandmother was all I had. She just passed away about a month ago, some time after my debut. That's why... When I remember her face, her voice and the kind words she would always tell me, I tend to cry a little. Hehe... I'm really sorry, again. I know it's a shallow reason to cry about."

Silence followed after the summary of my life. I had my head down as I spoke, and lifted it a little after. I looked at every one of them, and they looked like they were just trying to process what I have just explained about my life. Kotobuki-senpai especially, looked surprised and a bit sad. I was about to ask him if he was okay when he suddenly took me into his arms for a hug. I was very surprised with the action. I felt heat all over my body and especially my face. It was probably even red now from all the embarrassment I was feeling. I was about to call out to him when he suddenly spoke, breaking the silence that was filling the room.

"I'm so sorry Ruka-chan... You don't have to apologize. That isn't a shallow reason to cry about. It must have been painful... Loosing your parents at an early age and not being able to experience living with them at that. It must have been painful... Loosing the only family member you know of and you're close with."

He released me after he said those things, and asked me a question I have never heard before.

"But... Didn't you have friends Ruka-chan?"

I fell silent for a moment, then answered with a small smile on my face. I didn't want him to worry, so I tried my best not to feel sad or look like I was sad.

"No. I... Didn't have any friends because my grandmother was the one who taught me. I had a blind eye and deaf ear, that's why I didn't go to school and didn't get to know anyone from school or anything like that."

"Do you have friends now?"

"No... I don't have any... Friends."

"Ehhhh~?! Why not? You did go to the academy, right? You must have met some people there..."

"They... Didn't like me. I.. I tried, but I just couldn't seem to find the courage to make a friend."

"Oh... hai... Ruka-chan, you are a really kind person. You know that, right? You should learn to love yourself more, give yourself more credit. It can't possibly be that _no one _would want to be friends with you. But since you need to take things slow, you just need someone... Or _some people_ to approach you instead of you approaching someone else. So we'll be your friends!"

My eyes widened at what he just said. And all my other seniors looked at him in question, well, mostly with each of them having one eyebrow raised. Kotobuki-senpai simply grinned.

'D-did he just say that... They'll be friends... With me? Wait... _They? _Why they? No... He means the rest of my seniors, doesn't he? No, wait, no! That... Can't be possible. I mean... They don't even like me. So how... How are they...'

Not only was I surprised, but I was confused too. I wasn't sure on how they would want to become friends with me, but I decided to accept it anyway. I smiled at Kotobuki-senpai and thanked him for his kindness after trying to think of why they would want to become friends with me but failed to.

"Thank you ever so much... Kotobuki-senpai. I couldn't ask for anyone better than all of you."

After I said that, all of them gave me surprised looks. Whether it was barely noticeable or very evident. I tilted my head, quite embarrassed with my own words. Although I wasn't sure of how they were going to befriend me, that for a fact, was true. I really couldn't and wouldn't ask for better friends.

"You don't have to thank us Ruka-chan. You know we'll be more than happy to become friends with you. But... I really am sorry. If only we knew how painful your life has been, we wouldn't have made it even more painful."

"No, no. Please don't say that. It's fine. You didn't make my life more painful, none of you did. And... My life isn't as painful as it seems. I've had a lot of happy memories with my grandmother. So... Most of the things that have happened in my life were happy things."

He smiled, patting my head after.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked for the last time before going back to his original place which was the couch in front of me.

"Yes, I'm okay." I said, hoping he wasn't worried anymore. A few moments of silence was heard before Kurosaki-senpai suddenly pointed out something I never thought he would.

"So you're saying... You couldn't go to a school for... "normal" people. But you can still see and hear can't you? Just not completely. So why weren't you accepted? Or... You really didn't try applying for a school like that?"

Everyone was surprised with what he said. No one knew he was the type to... Well... Ask questions like that. Camus-senpai was the first to express his surprise in words.

"Yes. Kurosaki does have a point. And for the first time at that."

"What did you just say?!"

"Hold your tongue you fool. As I was saying, your grandmother must have enrolled you somewhere, since she was, as you said, a very honorable woman. Why weren't you being taught formally in a school?"

"I _was _accepted, but... I stopped attending the school I first applied for... and the other schools after that." I replied, looking down to the hands on my lap. Camus-senpai stopped drinking his tea the moment he heard my answer while Kurosaki-senpai had his eyes closed and his hands at the back of his head as he leaned on the couch's backrest, but opened them and sat up after hearing my reply.

"Now why would you do that?"

"What? Why?"

I was silent at first, thinking of how to briefly explain what happened to me in the past. Finally coming up with an explanation, I replied to their questions.

"I was... Being bullied and started getting bruises every now and then."

They looked at me with serious eyes but... _Not scary ones. _I was surprised at their slight concern for me. I wasn't really expecting them to believe me... Although it seemed like they did.

Silence again was heard after what I said. Kotobuki-senpai had that worried look he had a while ago again. I looked at Camus-senpai and found him not sipping his tea. Kurosaki-senpai went back to his previous position but with open eyes. Then I looked at Mikaze-senpai. His face was partially directed to mine and his somehow curious eyes were directed to me. Embarrassed, I looked away the moment our eyes met.

'What I said probably disturbed them as well.' I thought sadly.

I didn't want any of them to pity me or feel sad, which is why I never really liked mentioning these things to anyone. Well... I never actually did though. The silence was once again broken the moment Mikaze-senpai decided to continue the current topic about my life.

"There are schools for people with disabilities similar to yours. Why didn't you go to a school like that?"

Again, I tried thinking of an answer. It was a good thing I still remember the important things about my past, or else I wouldn't be able to answer their questions properly.

"I wasn't accepted to a school for _fully _disabled people. And other special schools were too far and my grandmother would have a hard time if I studied in a far school. So I just asked her if she could teach me and... she agreed to do it."

"I see..." he replied, narrowing his eyes a bit.

And yes, it became quiet yet again.

...

...

"Haruka..." Mikaze-senpai suddenly said, making me startle and jump.

"Y-yes Mikaze-senpai?"

"You said your grandmother got the letter from the hospital a day _after _your parents passed away, right?"

"Yes."

"And they passed away on July 6?"

"Yes."

"Then my data says that that would mean you received the news about your parents on your birthday."

My eyes grew big after the statement was said. And Kotobuki-senpai reacted the same time I did. He was surprised. Well, as a matter of fact, all of them looked surprised. It seemed like Mikaze-senpai was the only one knowledgeable of my birthday. I never even knew he knew my birthday.

"EHHHH?! Is that true Ruka-chan?! I... I'm so sorry..."

I nodded, then shook my head as to reply to both statements. I was currently unable to speak because of the shock I was experiencing.

"H-how did you know... My birthday?" I slowly asked Mikaze-senpai.

"My data says so. I researched on your basic information when I found out you would be my junior. It's part of what I do as a senior." he replied, saying it like it was a usual routine. And it really was.

"Don't worry Ruka-chan. Don't be so surprised. But... I guess you can't help but be surprised. Hehe... Ai-Ai knows practically everything." Kotobuki-senpai said with a grin.

"H-he... Knows... _Everything?_" I asked no one but myself in particular since, I made my voice quite inaudible. But apparently both Camus-senpai and Mikaze-senpai heard it. And because of that, Camus-senpai answered my somehow unsaid question.

"Well... _Practically. _He doesn't know _everything_. If he did, he wouldn't have to ask those questions to you would he?"

"But... He knows _a lot, _it's almost unreal." Kurosaki-senpai added.

"Well, that's Ai-Ai for you. Just as stiff as Myu-chan. Or maybe Myu-chan's stiffer." Kotobuki-senpai commented.

"Camus' definitely stiffer." Kurosaki-senpai said.

Mikaze-senpai couldn't help but sigh when Camus-senpai resounded a loud 'hmph' as he contradicted Kotobuki-senpai and Kurosaki-senpai's statements.

"I'd rather be stiff than lazy."

"And who are you calling 'lazy'?" Kurosaki-senpai angrily asked.

"You, peasant."

"What the hell?! What did you just say?!"

"Are you deaf as well? I said you were lazy, you gigantic fool."

"Say that one more time and I'll break those glasses of yours together with your face!"

"Make sure to pay for them then. You lazy, gigantic, good-for-nothing fool."

"That is it! Shut that friggin' mouth of yours before I-"

"That's enough Ranmaru. Camus, you don't have to say that more than once. You're just wasting whatever effort and energy you exert when saying that. And you don't need to rile him up." Mikaze-senpai said, interrupting the two seniors' argument. Although they were arguing, I couldn't help but smile and chuckle a bit at the scene. Kotobuki-senpai was laughing as well. He was laughing so hard, he only laughed harder when Kurosaki-senpai and Camus-senpai told him to stop. And at the same time at that.

"Just shut up Reiji."

"Be quiet you fool."

"Pfft... I-I c-can't... HAHAHAHAHA! Oh you two never stop..." Kotobuki-senpai said in between his laughs. He tried to stop, but he just couldn't. And when Camus-senpai and Kurosaki-senpai told him to be quiet for the last time, Mikaze-senpai told all of them to be quiet.

"SHUT UP!"

"Hai... I think all of you should be quiet."

I really couldn't help but let out a small laugh that continued for a few seconds. Until that is, when they all noticed I was laughing. I didn't notice them at first, but when my laugh was the only thing I could hear, I opened my eyes wider to see them looking at me with questioned looks. I immediately covered my mouth and looked down in embarrassment. I didn't know what to do.

'I hope they weren't offended. I didn't mean to offend them.' I thought, worried about what they would think of my sudden laughing outburst. So I apologized, hoping they would accept it.

"I-I'm sorry... I just thought all of you were cute... Th-that's why I couldn't help but... Laugh."

Scared, I looked up to see different expressions. But... To my relief, none of them were angered or offended ones. Mikaze-senpai still had a questioned look, together with Kurosaki-senpai and Camus-senpai, while Kotobuki-senpai was smiling. He always did smile. Sometimes I wondered how he could smile all the time.

"Ruka-chan, you don't have to apologize. We're happy you laughed. It just means that you're becoming more comfortable with us! And we want that to happen."

"Kotobuki-senpai..." I silently said. He chuckled a bit. I tilted my head, wondering what made him chuckle.

"Call me 'Rei-chan'. Okay?" he requested with a close-eyed grin. I was alarmed with his sudden request that my cheeks became a little pink.

"B-but... You're my senior... A-and I have to respect you... and we've only known each other for some time... and... and-"

"Pleaaaase~?" he begged with a look I somehow couldn't say no to. So in the end, I agreed to call him that.

"Al-alright. I'll call you... Rei-chan."

"YAAAAY!"

And after that, the rest of my seniors sighed in unison.

"By the way, don't call me 'cute'." Kurosaki-senpai suddenly said to me, grumbling in the process. I smiled a small, apologetic smile as I nodded.

After Kotobuki- I mean, Rei-chan teased Kurosaki-senpai a bit more, and after a few more of Camus-senpai and Kurosaki-senpai's arguments and Mikaze-senpai's constant interrupting of the arguments, we finally got to the original topic which was the song I'm supposed to be composing for them.

"So Ruka-chan, got any ideas?"

"Yes... I do have one idea for the song..." I said, happy that I finally thought of the perfect tune for them.

"That's great! We'll be looking forward to it!"

I smiled, happy that I'm finally beginning to get along with them more. Some time after, my seniors had to do their work and so I said good-bye to them before heading to my dorm to do some work myself. I was so excited I started humming a melody I just made up going to my dorm. I abruptly stopped humming though the moment I ran into a group of familiar looking boys. Although they were familiar, I had no time to stop and think of who they were and immediately apologized for bumping into them. I was scared they might get angry.

"E-excuse me... I'm so sorry."

After bowing, I was about make my way past them when one of them suddenly approached me. He was quite tall, and had long, golden-brown hair that reached his shoulders.

"Now who do we have here? Looks like we have a little lost lamb before us." he said as he took my hand and kissed it. "Please to meet you... Ms. Nanami Haruka." I was absolutely terrified. Even to terrified to move my hand away from his lips. He even knew my name.

'Wh-why does he... He knows my name?! Why?! He doesn't look that familiar to me... And I've never met anyone like this before...'

"Wha-?! Would you stop that?!" another one of them exclaimed. This one was quite... short. He had blond hair and a hat.

"She's so cuuuute! Elizabeth!" a person with curly blond hair screamed as he ran and hugged me. Now, I was more than terrified. I was about to faint.

'E-Elizabeth?!' I thought, wondering why he called me that and panicking at the same time.

"Let her go! She's not a dog! She's a human!" the blond boy shouted as he tried to pull the person hugging me away. Just when I was about to collapse and faint, two of my seniors came.

"What the hell are you doing to her?" a voice that sounded like it belonged to Kurosaki-senpai asked.

"Natsuki, let her go. She can't breathe." Mikaze-senpai... I think... said. And at that moment, he released me from his... hug.

"I'm sorry Nanami-san. You just look so much like my pet dog, Elizabeth and you're so cute!" he said with a smile. I was still shocked with what was happening, so I was thankful that Mikaze-senpai and Kurosaki-senpai appeared.

'H-he knows my name too?!' I exclaimed to myself.

"Could you not freak her out? Jeez... was that supposed to be an insult? She looks like a dog?" Kurosaki-senpai asked in a somehow sarcastic tone.

"Of course not! I just meant that she was really cute!" the person that Mikaze-senpai called 'Natsuki' replied.

"It's okay Kurosaki-senpai. I don't really mind..." I told him so that he could calm down a bit. I was actually surprised they reacted this way to the point that I was a little embarrassed.

"Let's go Haruka. They still have work to attend to." Mikaze-senpai stated as he walked towards the stairs going to the men's dormitories with Kurosaki-senpai following suite.

"Hm... I thought they had work as well..." I silently said to myself, wondering.

"Ruka-chan!" someone called. I was guessing that was Rei-chan since he's the only one who calls me that. And so I looked back to see Rei-chan and Camus-senpai heading towards us.

'I thought they had work too... Were they canceled?' I thought to myself, wondering why they were there as well.

"Rei-chan... Camus-senpai..." I called their names in a questioning tone.

"We were just planning to do some work in our dorms first before leaving since it's still too early." Rei-chan said, answering my unsaid question.

"Ah! Otoyan, Tokki... What are all of you doing here? I thought you guys had to head out already for work." Rei-chan asked the people I recently bumped in to.

"They were probably flirting with her..." Camus-senpai commented.

'F-flirting?' I thought, feeling a sweat drop on the side of my forehead.

"EHHHH?! You guys! She's OUR composer!"**  
**

"Rei-chan what are you saying?! We were not flirting with her!" a boy with red hair and red eyes answered.

"Ren did though..." the boy with the hat stated.

"EHHHH?! No way guys, hands off!" Rei-chan exclaimed, hugging me in the process. And that time, I really did think I fainted but didn't.

'This has been a very nice yet strange day...' I though as Rei-chan slowly but hesitantly let me go and winked at me. And seriously, my face couldn't get enough of all the blushing.

"Now who wouldn't flirt with a beautiful woman like this? She's pure perfection." another person with really dark hair that I can't tell whether the color's dark green or brown commented.

"Wha-?!"

"Enough Kotobuki. You're wasting time."

"But Myu-chan!"

"Reiji." Mikaze-senpai and Kurosaki-senpai said in unison in a somehow... threatening tone.

"Okay okay I'm coming... Oh yeah!" Rei-chan suddenly exclaimed. He took hold of my shoulders and properly faced me towards the people I don't know and said, "Ruka-chan, these are the rest of our juniors! You guys, this is Nanami Haruka, our composer!"

And again, my other three seniors sighed at the same time.

"C'mon you guys! Introduce yourselves!"

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**Okay... Not much happened but... Yeah! A lot more will probably happen in the next chapter. Not just their work and stuff. ^_^ Those people I didn't get to introduce are... you know... yeah. It's pretty obvious on who they are anyway. :) ;) Again, sorry late update! T_T And! Sorry for the typos... I'll correct them later. ;) Hope you enjoyed! Bye-bye! ^_^**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hai! I am so sorry for updating a little late again. Hehe... Okay so what practically happens here is half happy and half... I don****'t know.**** But... It****'s not dramatic so... No need to think about any of that. Oh and by the way, I don't know much about Starish so I'm sorry if their kinda or more than kinda OOC-ish. ^_^**

**That's all I've got to say so... Please enjoy! **

**Oh and yeah, the typos... I'm sorry about them... Hehe... ^_^ ;)**

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Haruka's POV

'I-introduce yourselves?' I stammered in nervousness and shock. I didn't see any reason for them to introduce themselves to me, and I didn't see them wanting to introduce themselves to me either. I was worried, scared as well. Who knows what their impressions of me will be after this encounter. But then I remembered what some of them said to me. And some of them were, believe it or not... _Complements_. One of them even said that he was _pleased _to meet me... No one has ever really said anything like that about me before... Except for Rei-chan. Neither has anyone ever kissed my hand before... And I don't really want people to. Since, I really wasn't used to that kind of contact, especially with people I don't know. Also, I wasn't used to this kind of attention. And I'm very much not used to complements this... Flattering. I'm not even used to the simplest of complements! Well... A complement's a complement, no matter how simple it is.

"_Pleased to meet you... Ms. Nanami Haruka."_

"_She's so cuuuute!..."_

"_Now who wouldn't flirt with a beautiful woman like this? She's pure perfection."_

That other person even tried to help me since... I really couldn't breathe when that person Mikaze-senpai called 'Natsuki' hugged me.

I looked at Rei-chan, who didn't really notice I was looking at him, then looked at Camus-senpai, who was glaring at Rei-chan.

"Kotobuki, you can do this some other time. Right now they need to leave for work. All of you just introduce yourselves to her another time and go. Now." Camus-senpai fiercely demanded, as some kind of cold, ice-blue smoke surrounded him. That scared me a little, but Rei-chan seemed like he wasn't. He pouted at Camus-senpai and his words, arguing with his decision in the process.

"But Myu-chan! They need to do that now! It'll only take a few minutes...! Right, Ruka-chan?" he asked, turning to me and grinned. I just smiled at him while nodding, not knowing what to say. He then looked at Camus-senpai, smiling in triumph.

"See? Even Ruka-chan agrees." he said. Camus-senpai simply hmphed and started heading for where Mikaze-senpai and Kurosaki-senpai were standing, watching the current situation with very small interest. They waited for Camus-senpai to catch up to them before heading to their dormitories. I watched them walk away and make a turn for the staircase leading to the dorms. Rei-chan was looking too, until he remembered why he didn't catch up to them.

"C'mon you guys, you can introduce yourselves now!" he announced with a wide smile on his face. I looked towards anywhere but the people in front of me, and noticed a figure approaching from the side of my eye. I turned my head for a better view of the person, but didn't recognize who it was. Well... I never really knew much people so I wasn't expecting myself to recognize who it was. Although, the face was somehow familiar...

I sighed while this questioned formed in my mind.

'Why do I always feel like the people I don't particularly know are familiar to me in some way?'

Rei-chan noticed me sigh and asked what was wrong. I smiled apologetically while answering his question.

"I'm sorry Rei-chan. It's nothing."

He pouted, narrowing his eyes playfully in the process.

"Ruka-chan, how could it possibly be nothing? Come on, it's okay. You can tell me anything."

I smiled, thankful of his gentleness.

"Well... It's just that, your juniors seem familiar to me, but I just can't seem to recall where or when I've seen them... Or if I ever did see them."

He laughed a little, patting my head. "Ruka-chan, you've probably seen them in a magazine or something. They are debuted idols you know."

"Hm... I guess you're right." I said. Although that was a possibility, it didn't really seem like that was how I saw them. After I said my reply, he patted my head once more and hugged me with one arm, and...

_kissed my head. _

I froze on the spot, my face as red and hot as a chili pepper. He chuckled through my hair and released me from his embrace.

"You're so cute Ruka-chan." he said, patting my head for the last time.

He then faced his juniors once again, but not without looking back and winking at me as he whispered, "Don't worry Ruka-chan, that was just a friendly kiss." I looked down, embarrassed of the current situation.

'Oh... I don't think I'll be able to take this much... attention.' I expressed together with a held back sigh since Rei-chan might worry again.

Suddenly, a long and clear whistle was heard. I looked at Rei-chan's juniors and tried looking for the source of the whistle, which then was that man who kissed my hand.

'Now his name was... Jinguji Ren, I think? Yeah... I think that was what he said.' I thought, trying to recall his name. How embarrassing. I forgot already when that was only a few minutes ago.

"What a bold move you did there, Kotobu... Trying to make us jealous?"

'_Kotobu_? Oh... _Kotobu_ki... He took off the 'ki' from the Kotobuki...' I thought strangely.

"What if I was making you jealous,hm? It's not like there's anything you can do about it." Rei-chan playfully stated, smiling as he put on arm over my shoulders. I looked down, a blush spreading across my face because of the embarrassment I felt.

"Wha-?! Rei-chan! What's with you?!" the boy with red hair exclaimed.

"Wow... What a senior you've got Ikki. And what an answer that was Kotobu." the... Er... I mean, Jinguji Ren-san commented.

I sweat dropped, knowing he really wasn't trying to make them jealous. I was still embarrassed though. Although, the person who didn't know that Rei-chan was joking was the red-haired boy. And so, with a sigh, someone stated that fact for him. He had dark blue-colored hair and eyes of the same color.

"Otoya, he was joking. Don't take all of the things he says so seriously."

"B-but Tokiya!"

"Just chill Otoya. Or else he'll think you really are jealous." the blonde haired boy said to him.

"Awwww~... I think he is jealous. Well too bad Otoyan, she's _mine_." Rei-chan said, sticking out his tongue in the process. I didn't know what to react of the situation. My legs felt like jelly, and my face's heat was two times the heat of the sun's surface! I didn't know... I was thinking of nothing in particular. Only my embarrassment and the fact that he announced that... _I was his_.

'Wh-what?! I'm _his_?! Wait... WHAT?! No... How... How would I... Oh I don't get it! I don't understand how that happened... I really don't.'

I was on the verge of fainting, but I was still able to hear some of the words said by Rei-chan's juniors. I was even able to hear an unfamiliar voice that sounded like... A _woman's _voice.

"Oh... Could you get any more childish? I thought you were supposed to be a grown up." the person who was called 'Tokiya' said with his fingers on the bridge of his nose... If my eyesight didn't deceive me.

'At least I think that was what he was called...' I was able to think.

"Wow... I never knew your senior was this childish Ichinose-san." the woman's voice said.

"Tomochi! What are you doing here?" the boy Rei-chan called 'Otoyan' asked, seemingly surprised to see the person familiar but unknown to me.

"Just visiting."

"You don't have work anymore?" the blonde haired boy asked.

"Nope. I'm done for the day."

"Lucky..." the boy with really dark green... Or brown hair said... At least I thought that was him.

"Now, now, you should be happy you have work. Oh and by the way, I am a grown up, but that doesn't mean I can't joke around~! Right, Ruka-chan?"

I couldn't really understand them because my head started to feel light. I wasn't used to this... This kind of scenario. I never even knew a scenario like this existed...! And because of all that and my the world turning up-side-down, I wasn't able to register into my mind what Rei-chan said. I could only hear my name being called and two firm hands on my shoulders. After that, my surroundings went black.

Reiji's POV

"Ruka-chan? Ruka-chan? Ruka-chan! O my gosh! She fainted! Ruka-chan~!" I screamed in panic. I was trying to wake her up by shaking her, but it didn't work. So I immediately took her in my arms and lifted her up bridal-style. I was planning to head for the dorms when I suddenly saw the rest of my band mates. Although I was surprised about them being here, I had no time for being surprised and immediately asked for help. But, of course, Ran-Ran said something first which led to me briefly... And I mean _briefly _explaining the situation.

"What the hell Reiji?! What in the world did you do?!"

"I don't know! I was just hugging her then the next thing I knew, she fainted!"

Ai-Ai then approached me and put a hand on top of Ruka-chan's forehead. I immediately became anxious and asked what was wrong.

"What's wrong Ai-Ai? Is she sick? Is she okay? Does she need to be taken to the hospital? Is she-"

"Calm down Reiji. She's not sick. She probably just became too nervous or embarrassed and fainted." he replied.

"But why would Ruka-chan be nervous or embarrassed? She seemed okay when she first saw Otoyan and the others..."

"It was probably because of what you did, you fool. She was probably embarrassed of all the attention she was getting and you stating that she's _yours_." Myu-chan said, answering my question. I felt bad, but also felt the need to say something, which lead me to plastering a playful smirk on my face.

"Oh I'm sorry Myu-chan. I never knew _you _would get jealous too. Don't worry, she's yours as well. She's our group's composer anyway."

"I am not jealous you-"

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm not. Now be quiet and-"

"Yeah you are."

"Shut up you-"

"Jealous~! Myu-chan's jealous~!"

"Would you just shut up Reiji?"

"Awwww~... Even Ran-Ran's jealous. Well sorry. I'll be the one carrying her to the dorms. But, chill. As I said, she's our group's composer so she's also yours."

"Wha-?! Would you... Argh! Just shut the fudge up Reiji!"

"You know Ran-Ran, fudge doesn't even talk. You should really stop eating a lot of food all the time. I bet you even talk to food that's why you think fudge talks."

"If you don't shut up I'm going to say the real word!"

"What real word?"

"Shut the fu-"

"Ranmaru, enough. Reiji, stop your nonsense and let's go so that we can set Haruka down. She might even wake up any minute." Ai-Ai stated. I nodded, chuckling after. And with that, I said bye-bye to Otoyan and the others before catching up with my group mates.

'Hehe... Otoyan and the others must've just decided to watch than join me and Myu-chan's and Ran-Ran's pretend arguments. Well... We we arguing but... It wasn't anything serious. Unless... They did take it... _Seriously_.' I thought, another idea popping into mind.

"By the way Ai-Ai, I'm sorry if I made you jealous too. I mean, you were jealous... Riiiight~?"

"No Reiji. I wasn't... Jealous."

"Why'd you pause then?"

"I was just thinking of the meaning of being 'jealous'."

"You... don't know what being jealous means?"

"I do. I just don't understand it."

"Wow... That's the first." Ran-Ran commented. And I had to say, I agreed. It was rare for Ai-Ai to _not _understand something. Although he was serious with what he was thinking, I decided to tease him anyway.

"Well, let me explain that to you." I said in a confident-like way.

"Oh great... Just perfect. Of course he would want to understand the meaning of jealousy through _your _explanation." Ran-Ran sarcastically said. I pouted as I thought of a comeback.

"Hey! For your information, I do understand the meaning of being jealous!"

"Sure you do."

"Hmph! You're just jealous because I'm the one carrying Ruka-chan and not you... Vent your jealousy on the wall, not me."

"What the hell?! Would you stop saying that I'm jealous?!"

"Don't try to deny it Ran-Ran. You know you're-"

"Be quiet and stop saying useless things, peasant."

"Myu-chan... I know you're jealous, so, it's fine. You don't have to hide it."

"Reiji, stop it."

"Stop what, Ai-Ai?"

"Stop your mouth from not shutting up."

"Kurosaki, you fool. Why don't you shut up? You don't have to react to everything he says."

"No you shut up! If you've got nothing better to say than 'fool', then might as well not talk at all!"

"You have no right to tell me what to do! I am Camus! Count of the Silk Palace! You. FOOL!"

"I already know that so shut up!"

"It's good to know that you understand that you're a fool, peasant. And no. I will not shut up!"

"What the- WHAT THE HELL CAMUS?! I'm not the fool here, you are!"

"How dare you say that to me you GIGANTIC, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING, LOUD PEASANT!?"

"Look who's talking!"

"I'm only being loud when I have to be! And right now I'm being loud so that you can stop being loud!"

"I won't stop being loud if you don't stop being loud!"

"Do you wish to die?! Because I can kill you this instant if you DON"T HOLD THAT TONGUE OF YOURS!"

"I think YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WANTS TO DIE!"

"DO I LOOK LIKE I WANT TO DIE?!"

"I SURE AS HELL THINK YOU DO!"

And as those two continued to argue, I was laughing so hard I didn't notice the movement on my arms. The argument ended up lasting longer than expected. We were already near Ruka-chan's room and they were still shouting, so Ai-Ai decided that it was time to end their quarrel. With a sigh, he screamed. Well, half screamed. But his voice was loud enough for the _screaming duo_ to hear. That in itself was a miracle.

"Both of you, enough!"

"Shut up/Be quiet!" the two replied, not knowing that Ai-Ai was the one who screamed at them. He glared, repeating what he said. That only made me laugh more though.

"Enough. You too Reiji."

Unable to wipe the few tears I got from laughing, I just tried to stop them from falling. Not that... They would actually fall. But I tried to anyway. I was about to move one of my arms when I suddenly remembered that I was carrying Ruka-chan. I looked down to see her still unconscious despite the loud things that have occurred. I sighed in relief.

"Is she awake?" Ran-Ran suddenly asked. I smirked, knowing that he was starting to like Ruka-chan.

"Awwww~... You concerned?"

"No, I'm not. I was just curious." he answered, looking away in the process.

"Liar."

"Just answer my question!"

"No Ranmaru. She's not yet awake."

"That's a surprise. I thought she would have been awake by now..." Myu-chan commented.

"How sweet... Even Myu-chan's concerned!"

"I most certainly am not concerned. I was just wondering on how she was able to remain unconscious despite Kurosaki's extremely loud voice."

"Look who's talkin'!"

"Why you..."

"Camus..."

"Yes Mikaze. You don't have to repeatedly remind me. I know very well that every time Kurosaki speaks, he doesn't actually speak, he screams."

"What did you say?!"

"And yes, you probably scream all the time because you're deaf."

"Would you shut up Camus!?"

"Okay you two. Chill. We wouldn't want to wake up the sleeping beauty would we?" I said, making those two say 'hmph'.

"We only have half an hour left before the shooting. We have to hurry when going there." Ai-Ai stated as we entered Ruka-chan's room. It was a really cute room. Very... _Ruka-chan-ish. _It was simple, with not that much furniture and not too girly. It's fragrance was just amazing, like strawberries together with flowers... Whatever that smelled like.

"This is exactly what Ruka-chan smells like... But better." I thought aloud.

"What are you saying you weirdo?" Ran-Ran reacted in a disgusted kind of way. I pouted.

"What? Ruka-chan really does smell good!"

"Whatever with that loud mouth of yours."

"Your mouth's loud too! Louder actually..."

"What did you say?! If it wasn't for your talkative mouth, we wouldn't even be in this mess, and she wouldn't be unconscious!"

"I have to say, I agree. If you hadn't asked them to introduce theirselves and end up doing many other things, twenty-five minutes wouldn't have been wasted." Myu-chan complained.

"Why didn't you just go then? You guys didn't have to wait for me." I replied, smirking as I thought of another idea.

"It's because you would've stopped Haruka from doing any work. But then again, you already did. Plus, you could've delayed us more than you already have." Ai-Ai answered.

"He already did." Ran-Ran added.

"Hey! It's not like it's the end of the world! Ruka-chan has plenty of time, and so do we."

"We don't have plenty of time, but we have enough. We have to leave now if we don't want to be late." Ai-Ai said as I started to gently set Ruka-chan down onto her bed, tucking her in after.

"If it weren't for that unstoppable mouth of yours, we wouldn't be so late." Myu-chan said to Ran-Ran... Obviously. Although he wasn't looking at Ran-Ran, I knew he was talking about him because of the reaction Ran-Ran's giving out.

"And I wasn't referring to Kurosaki alone." he added. Now that was when he was talking about me.

"What are you talking about Myu-chan? Ai-Ai was perfectly quiet throughout the whole time... except for when he was giving out reminders and breaking you and Ran-Ran's arguments." I joked, acting as if I didn't know who he was talking about. The three then shot me a bunch of glares after I asked that question. Ran-Ran murmured a "What in the world..." and Ai-Ai just sighed and shook his head. Myu-chan obviously answered back to what I said.

"I was referring to you, peasant." he stated with a scowl.

"What?! But... What did I do?!" I reacted, pretending to sulk.

"Be quiet Reiji and let's go." Ai-Ai said as he was heading for the door together with Ran-Ran and Myu-chan.

"Wait! How about Ruka-chan?"

"What about her?" Ai-Ai asked.

"She might wonder how she got here..."

"Then leave a note." Ai-Ai replied, saying it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And it actually was.

"Oh yeah! I'll just look for paper and a pen..." I replied, looking at the sleeping Ruka-chan. I couldn't help but stare at her beautiful sleeping face. She looked so peaceful, and her current state made me want to cuddle her.

"Her eyelashes are so long... It makes her look cuter than she already is." I thought aloud... Again. I tend to do that a lot when I think of Ruka-chan. I was still daydreaming of her when I suddenly heard a loud 'smack' in the background. I turned to see Ran-Ran's hand on his forehead, Ai-Ai glaring at me, and Myu-chan's eyes closed in irritation. I laughed a bit.

"C'mon you guys, she really is cute! Take a look for yourselves." I said with a grin. And for a moment, they really did look. I smiled in triumph. But that was only for a moment, so another moment after, they all went back to being irritated and annoyed.

"Are you going to make the note or not?" Ran-Ran complained.

"Jeez Ran-Ran, I'm making it, I'm making it." I replied with a pout. "Surely she won't mind me getting a piece of paper from her notebook and using her pen... Right?"

"I don't think she'll even notice you did."

"Ran-Ran!"

"Yes Reiji, she won't mind." Ai-Ai assured with a slightly irritated face.

"Okay then!" I exclaimed, placing the note on her table and looking at her one last time before following the others. When we were out of her room, I couldn't help but worry about her a little.

"You think she'll be okay?" I asked the three people in front of me. They sighed, with Ran-Ran and Myu-chan saying their own replies with their backs turned. Ai-Ai just nodded in agreement to what they said.

"She's not a little kid, Reiji. She'll be fine. You left a note anyway."

"And since you're so fond of her, why don't you trust her and her abilities? She looks capable enough in taking care of herself."

My eyes widened. Their words surprised me big time. I wasn't expecting them to say stuff like that since they were even the ones who said she wasn't capable of doing anything. I smiled at the thought of them warming up to her, then smirked at the idea I just thought of.

"Look who's talking. You guys were the ones who said she couldn't do anything..."

By that time, they were already looking at me as they stopped dead in their tracks.

"... And now listen to what all of you are saying. If I didn't know better, I'd say you guys were starting to care for her."

"What the hell are you saying?" Ran-Ran replied, looking away in the process. Myu-chan just looked at me like I was crazy, and I think he really did think I was crazy. Ai-Ai had his eyes narrowed and one of his eyebrows raised. I grinned.

"Admit it the three of you. You're starting to like her and you know it. I mean come on, what's not to like about her?"

They glared at me, then looked away, deep in thought. I was waiting for them to say something when they suddenly just walked away.

"Wha-?! Hey! Wait! You guys didn't admit that you like her yet!"

"Shut up./Be quiet./Shut your mouth you fool." they answered in unison. I then cried fake tears and started sulking on the way to work. They kept on telling me to be quiet which lead to me laughing the moment we got to the building.

"Y-you guys are so mean to me..."

"Shut. UP!"

"No! You guys are the meanest ever!"

"You've been saying that so many times Reiji... Twenty times to be exact, so stop."

"Nuh-uh! Not true! You guys really are-"

"Be quiet you fool!"

"What if I say 'no'?'

"JUST SHUT UP/BE QUIET/HOLD YOUR TONGUE YOU FOOL!"

Haruka's POV

I woke up, feeling a little dizzy.

'Wait... I woke up? Why did I sleep in the first place?' I thought as I looked at my clock to see what time it was.

'4:30'

"What?! Four-thirty?! How?! When?! Why?!" I panicked, not knowing what to do. Despite my panicking though, I was able to spot a piece of paper resting on the top of my table. I stood up, went to my table, picked up the note, and read it. It said:

'_Hi Ruka-chan! If you're wondering how you suddenly ended up in your room, I brought you there together with your other seniors when you suddenly passed out. See ya! Hope you feel better! ^_^ LUV U!_

_- Rei-chan'_

"Rei-chan..." I whispered blushing a little. I tried to think of what happen, when it all suddenly came back to me. My seniors' other juniors, Rei-chan trying to get his juniors to introduce themselves, the unknown person, Rei-chan saying that I'm his, wait... What?!

"Oh yeah... I fainted right after Rei-chan asked me something..." I thought aloud.

'I should thank them for going through all that trouble when they get back...'

Deciding that I will express my gratitude to them when they get back from work, I kept the note and went on with working on my song for them. It as a good thing I didn't forget the tune. I was excited to play this on the piano, and because of that, a lot of ideas were already popping into mind. An hour has passed and I was almost half done with the composition. I was thinking of the melody for the next staff when I suddenly heard a knock on the door.

'Hm... Who could it be at this time?' I wondered as I stood up and walked to the door. Turning the knob, I opened the door to reveal a familiar pair of teal-colored eyes as I looked up slightly. Shocked, I jumped a little as my eyes widened a bit.

"M-Mikaze-senpai? Uh... Hello." I greeted with a small bow, trying not to let my nervousness show.

He nodded in reply.

"Is there something I can do for you?" I asked, thinking that he probably wanted to check on the song I was currently making.

"I wanted to ask you something. Can I come in?" That surprised me. He wanted to talk to me... Inside my room.

"Sure..." I said, stepping aside for him to go in. I was scared, but had no choice but to allow him to. It was the least I could do after what he did for me a while ago. After I closed the door, I immediately felt the need in order to end the uncomfortable silence.

"Do you... Want anything to eat?"

He shook his head.

"Drink?"

"No..."

"Oh... Okay then. Uh... You can sit wherever you want to. Are you sure you don't... Want anything?"

A nod.

"So... What did you want to ask me?" I asked as I sat beside him on the couch. I was quite far though.

"I wanted to ask you... What being jealous means."

My eyes widened. I wasn't expecting that kind of question.

"Being... Jealous?"

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**The end! Of this chapter... ;) Sorry for the slight cliff hanger. I mean, I thought that was a good place to stop so... Yeah. ^_^ Again, sorry if there are any typos. And... Again, sorry for the slightly late update. I'll try updating earlier for the next chapter. ^_^ Until then, bye-bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again! So here is the eighth chapter which will show a lot of AiHaru scenes. ^_^ I don****'t think this chapter is sad or anything... It's just a little serious-ish because of Ai's questions. Then again, I didn't really make that serious... But anyway, hope this'll be enjoyable for you guys! XD**

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Haruka's POV

"Yes. I want to understand the meaning of _jealousy_."

Mikaze-san stated unemotionally. I wondered on how he knew so much but did not know the meaning of jealousy. And of all the emotions and feelings in the world, he wanted to know about jealousy. I found it a bit... strange, I didn't mind though. Well, as Camus-senpai explained, he knows an extreme amount of things, not _everything_. I was afraid to ask my question for him, thinking that he might get offended. But in the end, I asked him anyway.

"Mikaze-senpai..."

"Hm?"

"You... Don't know what 'jealousy'... Means?"

"I do. It's the state of feeling envious of another's achievements, possessions, and the like."

"Then... Why are you asking me about it?"

"Because I don't understand what it means. I _know_ the definition, I just don't _understand_ it... Especially this other definition I know of."

"What's that?"

"Feeling or showing suspicion of one's unfaithfulness in a relationship."

"Oh... I see."

"Do you not understand the definition either?"

"I do... A bit, although not fully since I've... Never really felt jealous before. I could still explain it to you, but... I don't think you'll be able to understand much from me."

I said with my head down, feeling bad about not being able to meet his expectations. I looked at him to see if he changed his mind about hearing my explanation, but his expression was unreadable, almost close to being absent. He was looking at me the same time I did to him, so I ended up looking away the moment we were seeing eye to eye... Literally. I tried stealing glances at him, noticing that he was still looking at me with great intent. I then tried to look at him for real, and apologize for not being a good source of information. Right before the voice came out of my mouth, he tilted his head and said something I wasn't expecting.

"Are you done thinking of what to say? Or... You don't know how to explain it?"

I wasn't sure of what to say, but insisted myself on explaining it for him even if it was just a little.

"Well... What would you want me to explain first? The first or second definition?"

"First."

"Okay then. Er... Let's see... Well, being jealous when it comes to what another person has, whether money or other material things, it just means you want that thing they have too and... Feel negative towards that person who has it. Does that... Explain anything?"

"Hm... What is 'feeling negative' towards a person?"

"Eh?"

"How do you feel negative towards a person?"

"Um... You look at that person in an unpleasant way."

"Oh... I see. Then, jealousy is a negative feeling, yes?"

"Yup."

"What about the second definition?"

"Oh... Well... That's a bit more complicated."

"Why?"

"Because that involves being envious of a certain person being with the person you care about. It's like, you think you're not getting the attention you want from that person you care for."

"Person you... Care for? What does that mean?"

"Mikaze-senpai... You don't know how it feels... To care for someone?"

Silence then filled the room after that question had reached Mikaze-senpai's ears. He was still looking at me, well, at least I felt like he was since I wasn't looking at him or facing him at that moment. I noticed him open his mouth, and I listened to the words that came out of it. I was so surprised and shocked with his answer that I was able to face him with my eyes open wide.

"No, I don't."

Silence.

"Y-you... Don't?"

He shook his head.

I couldn't tell if he was sad and was just hiding the fact that he had never experienced caring for someone or if he really did feel nothing at all for the current situation. I knew I was going beyond the line of privacy, and I hesitated at first, but I asked him yet another question related to his personal life. I was concerned about him. He was my senior after all, and if I was going to get along with him, I was going to have to show my concern for him, even in the strangest ways possible.

'He should have had at least one person to care for.' I thought with saddened eyes that I was too afraid to show. I was too deep in thought that I wasn't able to hear Mikaze-senpai's repeating calls.

"-ruka?... Haruka." I finally heard. I then looked at him immediately and was met with narrowed eyes. I immediately looked away again once I saw them. He looked irritated.

"You were spacing out... again. Why do you do that all the time?" he asked in a slightly annoyed tone. Although his emotions weren't that obvious, I could still tell whether he was irritated or not.

"I'm sorry Mikaze-senpai. I was just... Thinking."

"Thinking?"

I nodded, then turned to him as I briefly explained why I was spacing out. "I was just thinking of... Why you never cared for a person before."

"Is it bad to not care for anyone?"

"No, I didn't mean it that way. It's just that... Don't you have someone who cares for you?"

Again, silence fell. He turned his head, which made me only see the side-view of his face, and answered my question with another question following his answer.

"No, I don't. But... How can I say that when I don't even understand what 'caring for a person' means?"

I smiled, which led him to giving me a questioning look.

"You do have a point. I'll tell you what it means then. Caring for someone means... being there for a person when he or she needs you, regardless of what the place, time, and situation is."

"Wouldn't that mean making the person rely on you to the extent of being irresponsible?" he asked with narrowed eyes an a raised eyebrow.

"If you care for someone, then you'll know what's best for that person and guide him or her. That would mean you would only help that person when you know he or she needs you. But if you know that he or she has the ability of doing that certain thing on his or her own, then you would make that person believe in his or her self. Caring for a person doesn't necessarily mean you like that person, but most of the time, people care for other people together with liking them or loving them."

"What is 'liking a person'?"

I looked at him sadly. He didn't know anything about what it means to be wanted in this world when I knew perfectly well that a lot of people need him and want him here. I wanted to ask him again another privacy-violating question, but I just insisted on answering his question and the other questions to come first.

"Liking a person means showing interest in that person and looking at him or her in a good way. But... There are many ways of using the word 'like'. There's liking a certain thing or being fond of it like a toy, a hobby, or food perhaps." I stopped there when I mentioned the word 'food' because my tummy immediately grumbled the moment after. I blushed and looked down in embarrassment. Looking at Mikaze-senpai, I silently asked him if I could get something to eat. Then he nodded. I sighed, thankful that he got my unsaid message.

"Please excuse me for a while." I said, bowing before I headed to the kitchen to see what I could eat. I looked inside the refrigerator and spotted the two jellies in boxes that I recently bought before entering the Master course. Deciding that I should eat those, I took them both out so that I could give the other one to Mikaze-senpai. When I came back from the kitchen, I set the two jellies on the dining table and asked Mikaze-senpai if he wanted to join me.

"Senpai, do you want sit here with me? Or... Would you want me to just bring the food there?"

Without uttering a word, he stood up and made his way to the dining table. But when he saw the jelly, he stopped in his tracks and raised an eyebrow at it as he stared.

"What's that?" he asked in a somehow curious tone.

"It's jelly, Mikaze-senpai." I replied, a bit surprised at the fact that he didn't know what jelly was.

"Jelly?"

"Yup. It's food."

"Food... You're saying that's edible?" he asked as he sat down, still staring at the blue-colored jelly.

"Mhm! It's really good. You should taste it!" I exclaimed, excited with what his reaction will be since the jelly did taste extremely good. But he still questioned the jelly's standing of being food despite me saying that it really was food.

"Are you sure that's edible?"

"Yes, I'm sure. It may not look so much like usual food, but it is food, and it is edible. Please don't worry. I'm sure this is healthy as well."

He looked at the jelly one last time, then looked at me for a few seconds, then at the spoon on his plate. He picked the spoon up, scooped some of the jelly, then directed the spoon at my mouth. I blushed a little at the action.

"Prove to me that it's edible." he said, looking straight into my eyes as he waited for me to eat the jelly on the spoon. I couldn't help but blush at him for feeding me, but he still wouldn't put his arm down so with a deep breath, I opened my mouth and slowly took the spoon in and chewed then swallowed the jelly. I smiled.

'It's so good...!' I thought dreamily. I then smiled at Mikaze-senpai who looked satisfied with the current action. He then looked at the jelly then back at me, then at the jelly. I chuckled a little which made him look at me again.

"Do you want to try the jelly now?" I asked with a smile. He nodded in response, then scooped another spoon full of jelly. He was using the spoon I bit from so I was going to ask him to use the other one but I was too late.

"No, wait, Mikaze-senpai, use this-"

He then took the spoon in his mouth before I could finish what I was going to say to him.

"-one."

'I don't really think you're supposed to share an eating utensil with a person...' I thought, blushing as I looked at the scene before me. He looked at me questioningly, and tilted his head as I looked away. I didn't know why, but I wasn't really comfortable with the fact that I bit from the same spoon Mikaze-senpai was currently using. But I just shrugged the feeling off and just ate my jelly. I was about to ask if he liked the jelly when he suddenly answered that question without me asking it.

"I like this jelly... I think." he said as he was looking down at the jelly and then at me. I was surprised at his words, but was happy with them at the same time.

Smiling, I thought, 'He looks so cute with that innocent looking face of his...'

"Really? I'm glad you do."

"So... I do like this jelly, right?"

"Mhm. Is there any other kind of food that you think you like?" I asked, happy to know that he's slowly understanding the meaning of liking something.

"Mm... I think there is. It's called a butterbur sprout."

"A butterbur... Sprout?"

A nod. I was surprised that of all the food I know of, he mentioned a not-so-common one.

"You seem to like vegetables. Is that all?"

"Yes, I don't eat much so I don't try out much food."

"Oh... Do you not feel well when you eat a lot?"

"It's not that... I just don't want to eat the normal amount of food people eat."

"Oh... I see. Okay then." I said, smiling at the scene of Mikaze-senpai eating jelly. I was so into thinking about him finally understanding the meaning of liking something when I suddenly caught him looking at me. I looked back and tilted my head a little.

"What's wrong Mikaze-senpai?"

"Haruka..."

"Hm?"

"You're not yet done explaining to me the meaning of 'caring for someone'."

"Oh... Oh, yeah! I'm sorry Mikaze-senpai. Where were we again?"

"You were telling me what liking a person is. I understand the meaning of liking some_thing _but... I don't understand the meaning of liking some_one. _How do you even become fond of someone? I mean... What's there to be fond of?"

I was silent for a while, thinking of the proper words to use in explaining the meaning of 'liking someone'. And because of that, I stopped the spoon from going to my mouth midway, and was just holding the spoon full of jelly like I didn't want to eat it. Moments later, I finally thought of the things to say and were about to say them when I felt a hand on mine, slowly guiding it up to my mouth with a spoon in hand. The spoon then entered my mouth and I felt the hand leave mine. I looked at Mikaze-senpai who was looking at me and was finished with his jelly. We stared at each other for a while before I swallowed the jelly and took the spoon from my mouth and placed it on my plate. Then, I spoke after the slightly awkward silence.

"Mikaze-senpai..."

"Hm?"

"Thank you." I said to him with a soft smile. He looked at me with a slightly tilted head, an eyebrow raised in question.

"For what?" he asked in response.

"For what you did a while ago..."

"I wasn't really intending to feed you, I just didn't want you dropping the spoon and creating a mess."

I chuckled a bit before saying, "But still... Thank you.. For helping me in not dropping my spoon and creating a mess."

"Okay then." he replied, shrugging his shoulders in the process.

"You know Mikaze-senpai, what you did was one way of caring for someone. I'm not actually saying that... you care for me because that's up to you. But... That is one way to show that you care."

"Why? I didn't do that for you."

"Well, if you didn't care, you wouldn't have stopped me from creating a mess since it wouldn't matter to you whether I did make a mess or not."

"It wouldn't matter if it didn't concern me, but it did since if you were to create a mess, you'd have to clean it up which would waste my time."

I laughed bit before saying, "If you insist on that, then I don't mind. But I still feel grateful for what you did." I stated with a close-eyed smile. When I opened them though, I wasn't expecting the words my senior just said.

"If you say I care for you, then I suppose I do. But..."

He paused for a while before he said the last bits of his sentence with narrowed eyes.

-Silence-

"... Don't expect me to help you every single time you think you need help."

I chuckled a bit before nodding at him with a smile.

"Haruka..."

"Hm?"

"What happens when I care for somebody?"

"Then that somebody would most likely care for you too."

"So then... You care for me?"

"Of course."

"But... You wouldn't care for me if I didn't care for you?"

"Nope. I'd care for you... Even if you didn't care for me." I said, smiling softly. He widened his eyes a bit at what I said, then asked me why I would do what I said I would do.

"Why?"

"Because I have no reason not to."

"But... I've hurt you, haven't I?"

"Well... _You_ didn't hurt me, your _words_ did."

"But those were _my_ words."

"And they may be the words of others as well."

"I was the one who said them."

"But I forgave you for them. I had nothing against those words Mikaze-senpai. I should be thankful for them since... They somehow made me stronger. I know now that crying all the time isn't the best thing to do, and you together with my other seniors have made me realize that. So... Thank you."

Silence then filled the room once again. Although it wasn't such a bad kind of silence, it was quite... Comfortable. As I continued to eat my jelly, Mikaze-senpai never tore his gaze away from me. I didn't mind though. I was getting quite used to the fact that he wasn't much of a man for words. Once I finished my jelly sometime after, he asked me yet another unexpected question.

"Haruka... Does anybody else care for you?"

"H-huh?"

"Does anybody else care for you?" he repeated.

"Well... I think my grandmother cares for me." I answered with a smile, suddenly remembering my grandmother.

"Why?"

I was quiet for a few seconds before I answered his question. I missed my grandmother, and I really wanted to think of the memories I made with her. But that wasn't really the time for me to space out because of thinking about her.

"Because she was the only one who stuck by me through thick and thin. We've spent a lot of time together, and she felt like a second mother to me. She was the one who comforted me and made me smile... And she's the reason why I was able to get to where I am now."

He thought about what I said for a bit, then said another surprising statement.

"I've never done anything like that to you... So does that mean I really don't care for you?"

I smiled while thinking of how innocent he was to the point that it made me sad. Although he never really showed any signs of caring, I knew somewhere behind that unemotional face was a beautiful smile, waiting for it's time to show itself. And I wanted to be one of those people who'll make him happy, and make him realize that I'm not the only one who cares for him.

"Mikaze-senpai, that's entirely up to you. If you want to care for me, then thank you. But if you don't, I wouldn't mind that."

"I guess... I have no reason not to care for you so... I do care... I think."

I chuckled, making him narrow his eyes. I immediately covered my mouth once I saw his facial expression.

"I think you can answer my question now." I said, making him cross his eyebrows.

"What question? You've asked quite a number of them."

"Do you have someone who cares for you?"

He nodded and said, "Hm. You."

I widened my eyes together with a slight blush.

"N-no... I mean, aside from me."

"No. I don't have anybody else who cares for me." he answered. It would be quite painful... Saying those words to someone. But in his case, it seemed normal to him, which made me sadder than I already was. He knew something that wasn't true, and I was determined to make him know and realize that a lot of people care for him.

"Mikaze-senpai... Many people care for you, not just me."

His eyes widened quite unnoticeably as he asked, who else cared for him.

"Well... Your fans do."

"The wouldn't if I weren't an idol."

"But you are an idol, that's the thing. You make big impacts in the lives of others by being their inspiration. And... Your fans aren't the only ones who care for you. Your band mates care for you, and so do your other juniors."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm sure that if something bad were to happen to you, they'd be there to help and support you, just as much as I would."

He was quiet for a moment after I announced to him that many people cared for him. He then looked at me with eyes that looked... different from his usual ones. They were full of... _emotion_. They were more emotional than how he usually shows them.

"You're saying I should believe you?" he asked with a soft voice.

I nodded with a smile. "And if you don't, I'm sure you'll notice it someday."

He then nodded in response. I felt relieved to know that he finally knows that a lot of people care for him. We were just sitting there in comfortable silence, looking at nothing in particular when I suddenly remembered the dishes and utensils we just used.

"Oh yeah! I'll just put these in the sink. Please excuse me." He nodded, signaling for me to continue. Smiling, I stood up with my plate and spoon in hand, and was about to get Mikaze-senpai's when I suddenly slipped. The moment I knew I was falling, I abruptly closed my eyes as everything started to feet like they were in slow motion. I was waiting for the painful impact when I just felt a soft hit and a strong grip instead. And before I knew it, I heard a loud 'thud'.

I wasn't feeling anything, so I opened my eyes and wondered where the 'thud' came from. I was expecting myself to meet the floor when I was met with a pair of teal eyes or... One teal eye instead.

"Mi-Mikaze-senpai!" I screamed in panic. "A-are you okay? Are you hurt?" I asked in a worried tone. He nodded, trying to sit up from his lying position. He was having a bit of a hard time though since I was on top of him. Wait...

"I-I'm so sorry!" I said as I tried to get up to help him. But as I was getting up, I accidentally tripped on his leg and fell again with a loud 'thud'. What's worse was that I fell _on Mikaze-senpai... _For the _second _time.

"Ah!"

"Haruka..."

"Y-yes Mikaze-senpai?"

"How clumsy can you get?"

"V-very... Clumsy." I replied looking up to see his facial expression when I bumped my nose on something which was Mikaze-senpai's nose. I blushed to no end with the deepest shade of red. His face was... Was so close!

'His... I'm... I'm so close... My face... So close to... Mikaze-senpai's...' I thought as I started to see swirls flying around. He was just looking at me with his normal expression which was almost expressionless, which made me even more embarrassed.

"I... I'm so sorry Mikaze-senpai... Are you... Alright?" I asked as I tried to make my face farther from his. I wasn't that successful with it though. I then looked at him again, then noticed that I could only see half of his face because of my other eye being blind. It was sad for me to not be able to see things completely. I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice Mikaze-senpai's face getting closer to mine... Until recently that is.

"M-Mikaze-senpai..."

"Hm?"

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"Trying to get up."

"O-oh! Right..." I said as I tried to move but failed. I slipped on my slipper. And before I knew it, Mikaze-senpai's lips were on the bridge of my nose. I screamed a very short and held back scream. It took him a bit of time before his lips left the bridge of my nose, and when he did, he gave me an order.

"Don't move."

"O... Okay..."

Slowly, he pushed me away from him then gently pushed me aside for him to stand up. Then he held out his hand, signaling me to take it so that I would be able to stand up as well. I smiled thankfully and apologetically at the same time as I held his hand and allowed him to pull me up with no effort whatsoever. Once I was up, I immediately bowed to him and apologized for the caused trouble and my clumsiness.

"I'm so sorry Mikaze-senpai! I really am... I hope you're not hurt..."

Looking up, I saw his usual expressionless face with no trace of anger or irritation. He shook his head as a way of telling me that he wasn't hurt, so I lifted my head and smiled in relief.

"Haruka..."

"Yes?"

"What I accidentally did to you a while ago..."

"A while ago?"

"Yes. According to my data, I _kissed _you... Right?"

I was wondering on what he was saying when I suddenly realized what he meant by that. It was that time when he was trying to get up then I was trying to help him by lifting some of my weight but failed to. Because of me slipping for the third time, the bridge of my nose accidentally bumped Mikaze-senpai's lips. In other words...

'_He accidentally kissed the bridge of my nose...' _I thought with a once again reddening face. I tried to look at anything except for the person in front of me, but I had to looked composed somehow since I haven't answered his question yet. And with a deep breath, I nodded, replying to his question in the process.

"Yes, Mikaze-senpai. That is considered... A kiss." I half whispered.

"Oh... My data says you only kiss someone you love as an action of endearment."

"Yes... That's true. But! Yours was accidental so you... Don't have to worry about that." I said, wishing he would forget about that.

"Okay then." he replied with a stoic expression. And he also asked this very surprising question with a stoic expression.

"Why is your face red then?"

"H-huh?"

"Why are you blushing? You only blush when you're embarrassed, correct? So, why are you blushing when you say that kiss was nothing?"

I didn't know what to answer or why he was asking that.

'He's probably just curious... There's no hidden meaning behind those questions...' I thought, trying to calm my self down. Panicking, I tried to think of an answer as fast as possible as to not make him have any more suspicions... At least I thought he was suspecting something.

"Oh uh... I'm not really used to being accidentally kissed so.. That's why I'm embarrassed." I answered, hoping he would buy it.

"Hm... Okay."

I smiled, trying to fight back a sigh full of relief.

"I'll be going here again tomorrow, is it okay?" he asked, which surprised me.

"I still have questions I want to ask you." he added.

"Oh... Okay then." I replied, allowing him to visit me here again tomorrow.

"Then I'll be leaving now."

"Okay. See you tomorrow Mikaze-senpai!" I exclaimed as I followed him to the door to say good-bye one last time. Just when he was opening the door, a knock was heard. I jumped back a little. Mikaze-senpai opened the door wider to reveal the rest of my seniors there. I widened my eyes in shock.

"Ai-Ai?! What are you doing in Ruka-chan's room?!" Rei-chan exclaimed in a very loud voice, making Kurosaki-senpai and Camus-senpai grunt, while Mikaze-senpai sighed.

"I came back from work early, so I went to her to ask some questions." Mikaze-senpai replied.

"About?" Rei-chan asked, smirking in the process.

"That has nothing to do with you." he said, walking past Rei-chan and my other seniors as he started his journey back to his dorm. Rei-chan pouted, but shrugged and decided to let it go. But not before shouting at Mikaze-senpai, saying, "Yeah it does! She's my junior too you know!" and Mikaze-senpai looking back with an irritated look. I smiled, trying to hold back a laugh.

He then faced me with a grin as he greeted me and asked, "Hi Ruka-chan! How are you?"

"I'm fine Rei-chan. How was work? Oh! And uh... Would you like to come in?" I asked, looking at him, then the two other people behind him.

"Sure! C'mon the two of you." he said, motioning for my other two seniors to come in as he did. They furrowed their eyebrows, making Rei-chan pout. I sweat dropped, ensuring the two other seniors that they didn't have to come in if they didn't want to. They both nodded in response, and were about to leave when they stopped and turned to me.

"Oh yeah... How's the song going?" Kurosaki-senpai asked, avoiding direct contact with my eyes.

"Yes, have you made any progress?" Camus-senpai added.

I was surprised to hear them ask such things. I never knew they were the type of people to ask, but I was happy anyway. I felt something on my head and looked up to see Rei-chan beside me as he winked. He was patting my head again, like he always did. I smiled with a light blush, then turned to Kurosaki-senpai and Camus-senpai to answer their questions.

"It's going well. I'm almost done with half of the song so I think it'll be done by tomorrow afternoon."

They seemed a bit shocked with my answer, but they soon calmed down after a few moments. I was wondering on why they were surprised, when I remembered that they didn't know and think I could compose well. Rei-chan huffed as he stated,

"You guys! Are you underestimating her or something? She's _our _composer, Quartet Night's! And our composer is nothing but the best we could ever have. You guys know that, right?"

The two sighed in unison, leaving no comment for Rei-chan's statement but instead replying to what I said a while ago.

"That's good then since... You're almost done with the song." Kurosaki-senpai said, scratching the nape of his neck in the process.

"I hope it's what we expect it to be like." Camus-senpai mentioned, before turning to leave with Kurosaki-senpai following suite.

I was so happy, that I almost jumped. But then I remembered that Rei-chan was with me so I decided not to. I looked back, expecting to see a certain brunette when I found no one in sight. I looked into my room and found Rei-chan already inside. After closing the door, I saw him reading my music sheet with a smile on his face. I was so nervous on what he would think that I didn't notice him say something as he approached me.

Once I was able to become aware of my surroundings again, he was in front of me, his hand slowly making it's way onto my face. I looked up, trying to process what he was doing when he suddenly cupped it, making me jump a little. His hands were big... And warm... like him. I wasn't surprised with that. I was surprised when he started to lean closer to me. As he got closer, I noticed his eyes weren't actually silver, but they were like very pale brown or brown mixed with gray. Although they shined just as much as I knew they did.

But the closer he got, the faster my heartbeat went. And so I blushed like there was no tomorrow, and my face and neck must have been redder than everything red combined. Our noses were already touching and I couldn't help it anymore. I was so embarrassed, my eyes closed automatically as my pulse got faster and faster. I could feel his breath on my face which wasn't helping, and Rei-chan put his other hand on the back of my head which wasn't helping me even more! I tried to hold back a shriek as he moved closer and whispered something. I opened my eyes a bit as I was trying to process what he said but was not successful in doing so. It sounded something like,

"You're so cute, Ruka-chan."

I gripped his shirt and was going to push him away, but had no strength to do so. I closed my eyes tighter as he chuckled softly, making me almost collapse. My legs were even softer than jelly, and thinking of how weak they were wasn't making my situation any better.

'Why does this day have so many heart-popping events?' I thought as I was going to tell him to stop whatever he was planning to do...

When he...

* * *

**Well... That's the ReiHaru scene that I forgot to mention before... Hope you guys don't think he's going to do whatever you think he's going to do... K? ;) Well... Sorry if it's another cliffhanger. Hehe... Oh... And the typos... Expect them in all my chapters so I'm going to apologize in advanced. Hope you guys liked it! Bye! ^_^**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi! So... Now I****'m going to show you what Rei-Rei does to Ruka-chan. And many other things... ;) This chapter will probably have more ReiHaru moments than AiHaru, and I think the RanHaru and CamHaru moments will just come later. Oh yeah, and I apologize for Ran-kun's... Slightly unappropriate language in the past chapters and maybe in the future ones. I also apologize for the late update... Hope you enjoy! ^_^**

* * *

Haruka'POV

Until he... Pinched me on the cheek.

I winced at the slight pain, as Rei-chan grinned while holding back a laugh.

"Hehe... Got ya Ruka-chan! You thought I was going to kiss you, didn't you?" he teased as he continued pinching my cheek. I said nothing, as I was still shocked and embarrassed at the same time. He giggled a bit before he added something to what he was saying earlier.

"Well, to be honest... I wanted to." he exclaimed as he jokingly took hold of my chin. At least... I thought he was joking. Although I did think that, my eyes still widened and I still had very dark red on my face.

"E-EHHHH?!"

"Hahahaha! But... I decided to just pinch your cheeks instead 'cause you're soooo cute!"

He said as he pulled me in for a hug. I tried calming down by listening to the beating in his chest, and inhaling his sweet scent. I thought it would just make the beating of my heart faster, but it was working, actually. We were in that position for a very long time, and I was wondering if Rei-chan was okay. I looked up, revealing one very beautiful pale brown eye... Again with not seeing things completely. He was again close to me, but this time, our foreheads were touching, and I was alright with that. He stared at me for a few seconds until he leaned down and buried his face in the side of my neck. I was embarrassed, but I wasn't struggling or anything. For some reason, I felt a sort of sadness coming from him, and was worried about him. He remained silent, which wasn't really like him, so I asked what was wrong.

"Rei-chan? What's wrong? Did something happen a while ago? Are you okay?"

He shook his head and just whispered a very weak-sounding, 'I'm fine' as he tightened his grip around me. My worry increased.

"Don't you feel well? Are you sick?"

Again, he shook his head in response. I was getting even more worried by the minute and decided to see if he was really alright. I gently pushed him away so that I could see his face. He was smiling, but it wasn't his usual smile. It was... A bit gloomy. Like he really didn't want to smile. I put a hand on his forehead to see if he had a fever, but there were no signs of fever or any other sickness. And yet he still wasn't speaking, which made me become more uneasy.

"Rei-chan, are you sure you're okay?" I asked again. He grinned, but it still didn't change anything. He was hiding how he really felt, and it wasn't making the situation any better.

"Is there something you want to say to me?"

He frowned, and looked away. He was hesitating, and I couldn't find out why.

"It's okay Rei-chan. You can tell me anything you want to tell me." I reassured, making him smile sadly... Again. He was quiet for a few moments, which gave me enough time to lead him to the couch so he could sit down. I sat down beside him as I waited for him to speak. But he was just staring into space. I couldn't help it anymore, and decided to say something that might encourage him to speak.

"You know, a frown doesn't really suite you. Although you still look handsome even if you're frowning, you look handsomer when you smile."

He laughed at the statement as he patted my head, and smiled. It was a real one this time, and I was relieved that he was starting to get better. I was about to ask him if he wanted anything to eat when he suddenly said something very unexpected.

"Say, Ruka-chan, don't leave me, okay? Don't leave us, your seniors. Please? That's... Fine with you, right?"

My eyes widened as I thought of why he suddenly said something like that. I had no reason to leave them, and even if I did, I wouldn't.

'So why would he say that?' I questioned in my mind. Although I didn't understand what he meant by that, I just smiled reassuringly, and answered, "Of course. I'd never leave any of you. Why would I?"

He narrowed his eyes, slowly leaning his head against my shoulder. Again, we sat there in silence. Although it wasn't the uncomfortable kind of silence, it wasn't the comfortable kind either. I wanted to know why Rei-chan was so sad, to the point of thinking that I might leave him, but he was just keeping all of the feelings he had inside. I didn't know what to do, so I did what he has always done for me.

I patted his head.

"Rei-chan, if there's something bothering you, I'm always here. So you don't have to force yourself to be happy if you really aren't. You have to be honest with yourself, alright? Just like how you told me to be." I softly said, as I continued to stroke his hair like he always did for me when I was sad. He was still quiet, but I just let him be. Forcing him probably wasn't going to help anyway. I was about to see if he fell asleep when he spoke out of the blue and asked me a question I never knew he'd ask.

"Ruka-chan... Why are you so kind to me?"

I grew silent for quite some time, before I answered his question with a held back sigh.

"I'm kind to you because I want to be. You deserve to be treated with kindness."

Immediately, he lifted his head to look at me with widened eyes that soon turned into saddened ones after. He looked away and tilted his head downwards as he whispered something to himself. I couldn't tell if what he whispered was meant for my ears or not, so I asked, just to make sure.

"Did you... Say something Rei-chan? Sorry... I didn't quite get that." I said with an apologetic smile. He was silent for a few moments before he repeated what he whispered earlier in a louder voice.

"I... Don't think I deserve to be treated with kindness."

"E-eh?"

I wasn't sure of what he said, because I distinctly remember saying he didn't deserve to be treated with kindness. I tried repeating what he said over and over again, but no matter how much I repeated his words, the same result would pop up. So when they were properly registered into mind, I widened my eyes in complete shock, as I started to regret ever asking him. I was though, at the same time, thankful he repeated it. Because if he didn't, I wouldn't be able to correct it.

I looked at him the same time he looked at me, and we just stared at each other for time that felt like forever. I was expecting him to say that he was joking about what he said, but he seemed too serious. He was still boring into my eyes when he suddenly leaned against me, with his forehead on my shoulder. His hair covered his face as he remained in that same position. Thinking that he was going to stay that way, I took his hand in mine and expressed my thoughts on what he previously stated.

"Rei-chan... Please, don't say that. You know that isn't true, and you know you've done nothing wrong to deserve that kind of treatment. Everybody deserves to be treated the right way, good or bad. The fact that you've been good to people, is enough proof that you don't only deserve but _need _to be treated with kindness. So... Please don't say that. You need to give more credit to yourself, okay?"

He stayed quiet for a while, before suddenly squeezing the hand I held his in. I felt the weight on my left shoulder lifted and looked to see if Rei-chan was alright. Putting on a sad smile, he started telling me something I never knew he would say.

"I killed someone, Ruka-chan."

My eyes grew big, as I felt my heart stop for a split second. I looked up at him, looking for the truth in his eyes. But there was nothing left to find. Everything he said was the truth, and I couldn't believe it. Letting go of my hand, he patted my head. I shook my head, taking the hand on top of my hand into mine once again as I silently begged for an explanation.

Reiji's POV

"I... I don't believe you." she said, looking into my eyes. I sighed, gripping her hand just as tight as she did with mine, as I prepared myself for what was to come after the explanation of what I just confessed.

"Ruka-chan, I didn't kill someone _directly_, but I was the one responsible for _his _death. In other words, I killed him."

I paused for a while, trying to straighten myself up. She was still looking at me, but I saw no fear or disgust in her eyes whatsoever. She was everything good, she was perfect, like an angel from heaven. _And she was also everything I didn't deserve._

"He was my best friend during my life as a student in the Saotome Academy, and was also a famous idol during my time of auditions. He was a very successful idol, thus, a very busy one. One day, he called while I was preparing for his auditions. I was busy so I wasn't able to attend to him. And in a blink of an eye, he was gone. He committed suicide by drowning himself at the nearby sea."

By that time, I was already trembling in fear. I was scared when I realized it was my fault, I was scared of losing the people I cared about again if I didn't change. I was scared of having to remember that memory every time I see Ruka-chan. She was important to me, and if I were to do something wrong, I'd lose her. I was sure of that. Same with my band mates. They've been some of my closest friends ever since I lost my other friends together with _him_... Even if it didn't look much like it.

I was drowning in my own sea of thoughts when I suddenly felt something on the side of my eye. It was Ruka-chan's hand. I looked at her and noticed her worried look. I wondered on why she had such a look until I realized what was going on.

I was crying.

It was embarrassing... Having to show this side of me to her. But I couldn't stop. So I just cried and cried as Ruka-chan tried to calm me down by stroking my hair as she embraced me. I tried to thank her, but she told me to stay quiet for a while so I could relax. So I just thanked her in my mind instead... For understanding me and for comforting me.

I was about speak when suddenly, I felt my eyelids go heavy as all the energy I had left vanished. I tried to stay awake, but it was no use. I couldn't help it. Ruka-chan's embrace was the _coziest_ feeling I've ever experienced in my whole life. Her touch was gentle, like that of a feather's, she smelled sweeter than chocolate, and her hair was smoother than silk. She was perfect, just perfect. And these thoughts of her being perfect were not helping me. I was falling asleep at a very fact pace. And before I knew it...

I fell asleep in _my angel's _arms.

Haruka's POV

"Rei-chan... Rei-chan. Rei-chan?" I said, calling out to him. He had just finished explaining to me what he meant by killing someone, and realized it wasn't his fault. Feeling guilty would be natural, but...

'If he really were your friend, he wouldn't want you to feel guilty.' I thought as I continued to hug him. I noticed his calm breathing and gently pushed him away to see if he was asleep, and he really was. He still had tear tracks on his reddened face, but he looked peaceful. Relieved, I sighed a bit as I layed him on the couch. I was looking at his cute sleeping face when I suddenly remembered what he told me. His past, his feelings, his guilt. I was thankful for him trusting me to the extent of sharing with me some of the darkest secrets of his past. He was always so cheerful. I never would have guessed that he had that kind of past. I sighed again, thinking of the one possible reason on why he was always all smiles.

'He must have been hiding his pain and guilt all this time. Every smile would always have a touch of fear behind it. Fear of losing the ones he cared for, fear of doing the wrong thing. This must have been why he told me not to leave him...'

I was happy to know a little bit more about Rei-chan. And now that I knew this, I was set on making him completely happy. If not completely, happier than he is now. I knew he did nothing wrong. No one could blame him for being busy, and no one could blame his friend for committing suicide. It was simply fate. And he had to accept that. But, I was sure that wherever his friend was, he was still watching over Rei-chan, and hoping for him to let go of the past and guilt that he's been bottling inside of him for a long time.

I was so lost in my own little world that I didn't hear the door to my room open. I was still looking at Rei-chan when I suddenly heard a cough from I wasn't sure where. I looked around and noticed Camus-senpai at my side.

"C-Camus-senpai?!" I exclaimed as I jumped in shock. I was so shocked that I started falling off my seat. I gasped and waited for the painful impact. Nothing happened though. The only thing I felt was a strong grip on my waist. I uncovered my eyes and saw a very light-blue colored eye. It was the color of ice, and it looked as cold as ice too. But... There was a hint of gentleness and concern.

"Try being more careful, woman." Camus-senpai said with an irritated sigh.

I was about to apologize when I realized how close our faces were and blushed a very deep shade of red. He narrowed his eyes at my current expression, and let go as soon as he fixed my position. He had his eyes closed and eyebrows knitted in irritation, so I looked away for a while and apologized as soon as I calmed down.

"I'm really sorry Camus-senpai. Thank you for... Catching me." I bowed, not daring to look up until he replied.

"Hmph. You should be."

"By the way Camus-senpai, do you need something?" I asked, looking up in question. He was looking at Rei-chan before he sighed and answered.

"Not exactly. I just wanted to know if Kotobuki was here. Seems like he still is, and was apparently making himself cozy."

"Oh uh... Hehe. He suddenly fell asleep. He was probably just tired. Should I wake him up?"

"No need. I'll do it myself."

"Oh uh... Okay then." I said, feeling a bit worried. Camus-senpai looked mad, and I was expecting him to yell at Rei-chan for him to wake up. I could have been wrong so, I thought twice about it. And concluded that he was probably just going to tap him with his scepter. I noticed Kurosaki-senpai and Mikaze-senpai enter the room and decided to greet them.

"Hello Kurosaki-senpai, Mikaze-senpai."

They both nodded in return, before setting their attention on Camus-senpai.

"Er... May I ask?" I said, hoping they would allow me to know why they need to meet up with each other at this late hour.

"Hm." Mikaze-senpai replied as Kurosaki-senpai just looked at me.

"Why do you need to meet up at this hour?"

They sighed in unison, before Kurosaki-senpai answered my question, which was a bit of a surprise for me.

"The president called Ai and told him to meet with him together with us and you."

My eyes widened a bit. "Me?"

"Yes. He did not mention the reason, but he just told me to call you and the rest of the Quartet Night members." Mikaze-senpai explained.

"Oh... Okay then." I said with a smile. Turning to where Camus-senpai and Rei-chan were, I went closer to them to see if Rei-chan was awake.

"Ugh... What is it Myu-chan?" Rei-chan asked in a sleepy voice. I looked at Camus-senpai and noticed a vain pop up on his forehead as the ice-blue smoke started to surround him like before. I was about to speak for Camus-senpai when he suddenly screamed, gripping Rei-chan's collar in the process.

"Kotobuki! What in the queen's name are you doing sleeping in the woman's room?!"

"Wh-what? Myu... Chan? What are you doing here?" he asked, as he started falling asleep again.

"I'm the one asking you that so answer my question!" he yelled even louder which made Rei-chan jump a bit.

"I... Was talking with Ruka-chan when... I fell asleep."

"Ugh... Just... Wake up! We're being called by Saotome."

"Geez Myu-chan. You don't have to shout."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"But Myu-chan! Hey wait... Shining-san? Why?"

"I don't know. But he told us to go immediately, so hurry up and get going! You too, woman." Camus-senpai ordered.

"Yes sir!" Rei-chan replied as he saluted. I tried to hold back a chuckle as I nodded and walked towards the door when I suddenly felt someone embrace me from behind. I looked back and saw Rei-chan. He smiled at me, before doing something I never thought he do for real.

He kissed me... On the cheek.

It wasn't just a split second kind of kiss, but it lasted for more than one second! My eyes widened to it's widest width, and my breathing stopped the moment I felt his lips on my cheek. When he pulled away, I just stared at him with an extremely deep blush. Chuckling, he hugged me again but in front this time. For a moment, I felt something different about him, like he was telling me something through the tightness of his hug. I looked at him, then at the rest of my seniors. They all had slightly shocked looks, which surprised me a little. I wasn't used to them wearing expressions like that. I just smiled, as Rei-chan started to let go of me. He smiled at me for a few seconds before putting on his signature grin. He took hold of my hand and stuck out his tongue at my other seniors as he started to lead towards the door. I sweat dropped as my seniors narrowed their eyes at Rei-chan as they followed us out of my dorm.

"Reiji, what in the world did you just do?" Kurosaki-senpai asked as he caught up to me and Rei-chan. I looked at him, waiting for his reply when I saw a flash of mischief in his eyes. I silently sighed... He was going to joke with Kurosaki-senpai again.

"What ever do you mean Ran-Ran?" he asked. It was obvious that he knew what Kurosaki-senpai was talking about, which was why Kurosaki-senpai grunted as he answered.

"Why did you kiss her?"

"Why? Is it illegal?" he answered back with narrowed eyes and a smirk. Kurosaki-senpai widened his eyes in an angered manner as he tried talking back but was cut off by Rei-chan's immediate response.

"Wha-?! I didn't say anything like that! I just-"

"You're jealous, aren't you?" he continued to tease despite Kurosaki-senpai's dangerous-looking glares.

"I'm not jealous! I just don't want you making her un-"

"Aww... It was only on the cheek. It's okay Ran-Ran. You don't have to hide it."

"You know what? Just shut up." he snapped, having enough of being cut off. I knew Rei-chan wasn't going to stop until one of my two other seniors ordered him to, so I just laughed awkwardly, feeling another sweat drop form at the side of my head as Mikaze-senpai and Camus-senpai sighed.

"You know you're jealous Ran-Ran, and you know it." Rei-chan persisted, as I suspected he would.

"Why would I be-"

"Jealous? 'Cause I said so! It's obvious Ran-Ran."

"Why the hell would I be jealous?! I don't even like her!"

"Yeah you do..."

"No I don't!" Kurosaki-senpai screamed, surprising Rei-chan for a bit until he calmed down and became quiet for a few seconds. I felt a slight pang in my chest as I heard those words, despite not being that surprised. The path leading to the president's office grew silent, as Rei-chan and Kurosaki-senpai's argument died down. The silence was suddenly broken by Rei-chan who asked a very surprising question, especially for Kurosaki-senpai who had eyes that showed shock.

"So you hate her?"

No response was heard, which made me think that he really did hate me. Narrowing his eyes at Rei-chan, his eyebrows crossed as he resounded an exasperated sigh. My eyes then dropped to my feet, as Kurosaki-senpai remained silent for a few more moments. Knowing the yet-to-be-said answer wasn't helping the pang in my chest disappear. In fact, it just made the pain intensify, making me clutch the sides of my skirt.

Walking to our fixed destination in awkward silence, I fiddled with my fingers until I was startled by a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to meet Kurosaki-senpai's mismatched eyes and tilted my head in question. He stopped in his tracks as he said something that I wouldn't even imagine in my wildest dreams.

"No. I don't hate her. What I meant by 'not liking her' was that I don't like her in a crush kind of way, okay?"

Recovering from the surprise he felt with sudden announcement Kurosaki-senpai made, Rei-chan chuckled as he replied. "I know."

"Then why did you bother asking me?!" Kurosaki-senpai exclaimed with a tick mark on the side of his head. Rei-chan just continued to walk as he shrugged and answered, "You know why~.". Narrowing his eyes, Kurosaki-senpai grumbled under his breath as he held back a full scream, deciding to emphasize every word he said instead.

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't know! Geez!"

"Oh be quiet, fools." Camus-senpai cut in right after the recently said statement. I was expecting Kurosaki-senpai to answer back when he just took a good, long glare at him as Camus-senpai did the same. The tension was so obvious, I could see sparks coming from their eyes. I chuckled a bit, as Rei-chan just stared at them. Mikaze-senpai simply narrowed his eyes, closing his eyes in the process.

We were already in front of the door to the president's office when we suddenly heard a scream or... A half scream from inside. I looked at my seniors and asked if I should knock despite other people being inside. They all nodded, so I did as told.

"Excuse us, Mr. President?" I said, slowly opened the door as I poked my head out of the narrow gap.

"Yes Ms. Nanami! You may come in." he suddenly said, making me jump back a little. As all of us were inside the room, we spotted my seniors' other juniors and a girl I wasn't familiar with. She had hair slightly darker than blond, and her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. She was a very pretty girl, and she seemed quite kind too with that smile on her face. But, I was still me so, as aways, I acted quiet and stiff, being around unknown people as I waited for the president to say something. Tsukimiya-sensei and Hyuga-sensei were also there, who were just doing the same thing we were: waiting for the president to announce the reason of calling us at this time.

Not being able to wait anymore, Rei-chan broke the silence that was previously being made as he said, "Shining-san... Why did you summon us?"

He chuckled, answering Rei-chan's question in the process. "I called all of you here to introduce you to a new member of our agency and your dorms."

My eyes grew a little, as I directed my look towards the new composer. I was nervous because her being in our dorms would mean that she would be staying in the same floor as me. I started to wonder on why she was being assigned to the dorm house we were in when Kurosaki-senpai's voice cut my line of thought.

"What the? That's it?" he mumbled in a slightly annoyed tone. It wasn't meant to be heard by anyone else aside from me and the rest of my seniors who were near him, but apparently the president heard it and immediately stood up to answer to what he said.

"No, Mr. Kurosaki... That is not it."

"Then what is this other reason you're referring to?" Camus-senpai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I will tell you that when-! I'm finished introducing this new and wonderful composer to you boys and girl."

Silence suddenly filled the room as the president increased the suspense of knowing who the unknown girl is. We waited, and waited for what seemed like forever. Not wanting his time to be wasted, Camus-senpai broke the silence and demanded for the introduction.

"Well? What are you waiting for? It's getting late Saotome. If you want to do this now then hurry up."

The president chuckled, answering back to what Camus-senpai said, making him even more irritated.

"Hoho~? Eager to know who this fine woman is, eh? Well-! Don't worry, I will now introduce her."

"Oh for the love of... That wasn't what I was saying..." Camus-senpai said under his breath with crossed eyebrows, making the rest of my seniors look at him with different looks. I sweat dropped, making him look at me with a look of question. I noticed him glare at me a little, and immediately looked away with a slight blush. Rei-chan laughed a little, patting my head in the process.

"Just get on with it." Kurosaki-senpai fiercely demanded with his hands at the back of his head and his eyes closed in impatience. Right after Kurosaki-senpai's demand, a whistle was heard from where we were and seemed like it was coming from our left. It sounded very familiar, and so I started wondering why that was so. My eyes moved to the left as I asked myself if it was one of my seniors' other juniors. And I was right. Finding out who it was _exactly _that created the whistle, I stopped my wondering and fixated my eyes on the person known as Jinguji Ren.

"Woah... Calm down Ran-chan. Don't tell me you're interested in our composer already?" he said in a teasing tone. Kurosaki-senpai grunted in response, glaring at his junior for what seemed like a year or so. Until that is, his glare was directed to a certain blue haired man.

"Jinguji, she's our _composer-to-be_, not composer." the said man corrected. Answering him, Jinguji-san simply shrugged his shoulders and said 'yes' twice. Which to the blue haired man, was irritating, judging from his gaze that was close to a glare. A clasp of two hands were suddenly heard as the tallest one among my seniors' other juniors exclaimed, "Well, she will be our composer soon enough, so why can't we call her our composer yet?"

"Because, she isn't our composer... _Yet._" the short blond answered back, emphasizing the word 'yet' in the process. The boy I recall being 'Otoya' joined their conversation not too long after the male known as 'Natsuki' chuckled a bit and agreed on what the blond previously said.

"You guys, she's _going _to be our composer, and that's final. Why not let the president introduce her already?"

"Hoho! That's the spirit Mr. Ittoki. You were the ones who said you didn't have all night, so let's get it on with then!" the president suddenly chimed in, leaving me and the woman-that's-yet-to-be-introduced, startled.

"Well then, without further ado, let me introduce you to...

Ms. Hoshikage Seira!"

Silence filled the room before a very loud shout was heard from one of my seniors. I jumped at the sudden outburst.

"Wha-? WHAT THE FUDGE?!" Kurosaki-senpai immediately exclaimed in total shock right after the introduction. His eyes were the widest I've seen him do, and I wondered on why he reacted that way.

"I know... I barely recognized her." Jinguji-san added, making Kurosaki-senpai abruptly turn his head at him.

"You've got to be kidding, right? That girl... Is Hoshikage Seira?"

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**Okay! I had to stop there... Peace! There wasn't much in this chapter but the importance of the newly introduced character is high so... Yeah. Hope you enjoyed! Bye-bye! Oh and... She's not an OC... Just saying... K? ^_^?**

**Oh and... I'll be updating really late for the next chapter so... I'm sorry! T_T**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi! Long time no... Er... Update. ;) I apologize again for the really late update. T_T... But anyway, don****'t wanna keep you waiting so... Please enjoy! X)**

**Oh and again, peace for whatever corrections I have with the spelling and stuff... I'll just correct them later on.^_^"**

* * *

Haruka's POV

"That girl... is Hoshikage Seira? The fudging woman who loves to humiliate people especially in public? The Queen of Scandals?" Kurosaki-senpai exclaimed, full shock evident in his tone. Jinguji-san simply smirked, nodding in reply as Kurosaki-senpai tried to calm down. Although he was able to compose himself again, he was still extremely surprised, so his eyes remained slightly widened. But, not as much as when he first found out the the unfamiliar girl was the so-called 'Hoshikage Seira'. I was still curious and wondering on why he was so shocked about this when I suddenly remembered what he called her.

'The Queen of Scandals...' I thought, not planning to stop there. '... Loves to humiliate people? But... Why?'

I looked at Kurosaki-senpai, then to Hoshikage-san. I shifted my eyes from my seniors' other juniors, to Rei-chan, Mikaze-senpai, and Camus-senpai. They all seemed familiar with her, one way or another. And when I looked at Tsukimiya-sensei and Hyuga-sensei, they seemed to know her too, but had a sense of surprise as well. I was getting tired of wracking my brain for some sort of clue to who she is, or... w_as _until the president explained to us more about who she is, and who she used to be. I was thankful for him, as my unsaid questions were about to be answered.

"Yes! That is right, Mr. Kurosaki." the president started. "This fine lady here is the Hoshikage Seira, previously known as an actress, and is also Mr. Jinguji's ex-girlfriend."

My eyes grew a little after hearing the word 'ex-girlfriend'. I felt a bit sad at first, since that would mean that they separated after some time of being together. But then, seeing as they were okay with each other already... Or so I thought, I felt quite relieved that they didn't seem to feel awkward being together. She will be his group's composer after all. I still felt a bit curious though. I knew it was none of my business, but I couldn't help but ponder on it a little.

"Ex... Girlfriend... Hm... I wonder why..." I heard myself say. I was supposed to think that, but ended up mumbling it under my breath instead. Realizing this, I lifted my shoulders a little as I tried looking at the people closest to me unnoticed, hoping they didn't hear what I just said to particularly no one but myself. Especially since the people closest to me were my seniors. I directed my eyes upward for me to somehow meet theirs, silently pleading for their attention to still be on the president. But, I couldn't have everything. So unfortunately, they were all looking at me and were therefore directing their attention towards me. My eyes slowly made their way back down, as I started to lower my head in embarrassment. A brief moment of silence followed before I looked up at them again and chuckled awkwardly. I was expecting to hear a series of sighs when I heard a soft laugh instead. I mumbled an apology before a hand rested itself on top of my head. It was Rei-chan.

"Hehe... Seems like someone's curious about the history of Ren-Ren end Seira-san." he said, with the volume range of his voice close to inaudible. Although his voice could only be heard by me and the rest of my seniors, the teasing was still evident. I looked at him, and he simply winked at me, which caused me to look away. At first, I wondered why they were being so quiet when I suddenly understood what their gestures were trying to tell me, and they were right.

'Oh yeah... Best not to think of it anymore. It's none of my business anyway.'

I smiled apologetically to let them know that I was sorry for pondering on things that I wasn't supposed to ponder on. After doing so, Rei-chan just smiled back with Mikaze-senpai and Camus-senpai narrowing their eyes as Kurosaki-senpai softly sighed. I then looked at the president together with my seniors. I was expecting him to continue what he was saying earlier when Kurosaki-senpai spoke up instead.

"Why in the world did you even say that? It's not like we need to know."

"Yeah Shining-san. Don't you think that's crossing the line? I mean, c'mon. We're talking about a past _romantic relationship _here. That at least should be kept private." Rei-chan added. They both did have a point. There wasn't really any reason for the president to say that... At least, a reason I could think of.

We were awaiting his response when a chuckle and an awkward chuckle could be heard from across the room. I turned to my left, thinking that the sources of those chuckles were coming from that direction. And I was right. The chuckles were coming from Jinguji-san and Hoshikage-san. After their chuckles died down, Hoshikage-san stayed silent as Jinguji-san explain that they didn't mind being reminded of their past relationship.

"Well, it is true. I used to be in a relationship with her, but we broke up. It was a decision we both accepted. We're fine now. Right, Seira?" he said as he moved to take hold of Hoshikage-san's shoulder for a one-armed hug. She smiled, slightly resting her head on his chest as she replied.

"Of course. I've gotten over that now. And plus, thanks to that break-up with you, I was able to change and become who I am now."

Jinguji-san whistled in amusement, opening his mouth after and was about to say something when Hoshikage-san cut him off. He looked at her in question.

"Although..." she said, pausing for a while, leaving Jinguji-san patiently waiting for her to go on. She tilted her head upwards and locked her eyes with his, before smiling a close-eyed smile. Her smile was brief, as she immediately opened them half way, signaling her continuation of what she was saying a while ago.

"...I would fall for you again if..."

Again, she paused, looking in our direction in the process. I widened my eyes be more specific, she was looking towards the people at my back, which could only mean one thing: she was looking at either Mikaze-senpai or Camus-senpai... Or both. I was about to look back at them when she suddenly widened her smile, pointing her finger towards I-don't-know-who in the process.

"... If I had not seen those two over there." she suddenly continued.

'I was right...' was my only thought as I widened my eyes even more. I slowly looked back, not being able to imagine their expressions. Mikaze-senpai had his usual unreadable expression, which surprised me a little, despite the fact that most of me was expecting him to remain in his usual, stoic self. But what surprised me even more was Camus-senpai's expression... He was smiling. _Smiling. _I stared at him in awe and disbelief. I have never seen him smile before, not even a smirk. I wondered why he had that look, but decided to think about it later as I turned my attention back to Hoshikage-san and Jinguji-san, not being able to predict what will happen next. I figured Jinguji-san would look surprised, but... No. He still had that signature smirk of his, which confused me to no end.

'Wasn't he supposed to be at least a bit shocked because of that statement? Or maybe he's just trying to keep his cool... But, no, he still should be... No. He does seem like the relaxed kind of person, so it's understandable that... No. Wait, what? I... I'm confused...'

I was thinking, but couldn't organize my thoughts very well. Either I really wasn't used to things like this, or everyone else in the room I was currently in were used to stuff like this. they could be trying to be calm, but as far as I knew, not everyone acted like that. One example of that type of person was Rei-chan. Although he is good in hiding his true feelings, he only does that with his pain and sadness. Surprise is something he very much likes to show, and I would have thought he was surprised if I hadn't tilted my head to his and Kurosaki-senpai's direction. Instead of widening his eyes like he usually does when he's surprised, he softly laughed. Kurosaki-senpai had this irritated look on his face while mumbling something that sounded like 'what a flirt'. I didn't really question his reaction, since I knew well enough that he wasn't one to show much feelings except when something angered or irritated him. So I simply shifted my eyes to a different direction, hoping that I wasn't caught staring at him. I have looked at everyone else in the room, no one, exactly _no one_ looked surprised... Except me. My eyes went from left to right, still no one looked surprised. I questioned this fact, and it was obvious judging from the look on my face. My search was still being continued when I suddenly felt weight upon my shoulder. Looking at it, I saw a hand, and trailed my eyes up and up until I identified the owner of that hand... It was Rei-chan again.

I stared at his grinning face for a while, before he replaced his grin with a smile. That smile was followed by a chuckle, then a sigh. That sigh came from Kurosaki-senpai, and so did the answer to my question.

"She was joking, Nanami. Don't take everything she says seriously. Especially things like that."

I repeated what he said in my head, and tried to register every word of it. After what seemed like forever, I was able to completely process what Kurosaki-senpai just said, and replied to him with a soft 'Oh...'. I looked at him, and he returned that look with narrowed eyes and crossed eyebrows. I felt ashamed for only being able to realize this now, and awkwardly laughed for the second time around because of it. Rei-chan found this funny as he giggled, playfully but softly hitting my head with his knuckles in the process.

"Ruka-chan, you had no idea, did you?" he asked teasingly. I shook my head. I was just about to apologize again when he suddenly shared to me a fact I never knew was true... Or possible.

"Oh and by the way..." Rei-chan started with a lowered voice. "If you're wondering about Myu-chan, he's only kind and polite to girls like his fans and the people he comes across with at work. He just didn't start off that way with you because you're his junior and well... He's always strict so he didn't see the need to hide his real self from you for the sake of the fact that you're a girl." he finished with a wink and a silent 'sorry'. I simply giggled at what he said as he grinned.

For some reason, I had the urge to know Mikaze-senpai and Camus-senpai's reactions, which resulted to me directed my eyes to where they were. Both had irritated looks, as I expected. Mikaze-senpai had his eyes closed while Camus-senpai had his eyes narrowed. I bent my head down in embarrassment together with a mumbled apology, my cheeks heating up a bit in the process. I stayed in that position until I heard a soft giggle. I looked up and found out that the giggles were coming from Hoshikage-san.

"I never knew I still had that in me... Was I still that good in acting?" she said in between her giggles. I heard a series of sighs and a few chuckles coming from my seniors' other juniors, and of course, Rei-chan. I smiled in slight embarrassment. When the chuckles were starting to soften, Jinguji-san answered Hoshikage-san's question that was asked to particularly no one.

"You can't get rid of talents my lady. You will always have that in you, even when you grow old."

She laughed, replying to the recent complement. "Thanks, Ren.", was what she replied before turning to face me and my seniors. And this time, I was sure she was looking at me. I was about to tilt my head when she started speaking again.

"By the way Nanami-san, I was just kidding. I'm sorry if I startled you. I used to be a major flirt so, joking about things like this are pretty easy for me... And a bit normal. At least, it used to be. And, although your seniors are pretty charming and adorable, I don't think I'll be falling for any of them. But, I'm not offending you guys or anything, okay?"

I widened my eyes a bit as she stopped there. She knew my name, which wasn't something I was expecting. And because of that, my mind automatically pondered on that fact and some of the other things she said. I was a bit tired though, which was why my thoughts were starting to scatter and disorganize.

'Wait... She just said my name. How... How does she even know my name? And... Joking about what exactly? Falling in love? Or something else? And what was she saying about something normal? Oh wait... I remember now. She said joking about falling for someone was normal for her or... Used to be.'

I continued to think as my mind traveled farther and farther from the world called reality. My eyes were starting to close as my head started to hurt. My body was becoming all weak and heavy, and I knew I wasn't far from collapsing onto the floor. A lot of things have happened today: meeting my seniors' other juniors, fainting, talking and having conversations with Mikaze-senpai and Rei-chan about matters that were somehow private, and this. Anything else being added up to the list of unexpected events today would be too much for me. 'But, then again, I doubt anything else more unexpected than this would happen.' I thought as I tried to relax a little.

My feet were about to give up on me when I suddenly heard a loud voice calling out to me as the patting on my head followed. I was about to respond to whoever was calling me when I suddenly felt a slight pain on my head. I returned to my senses and reacted with a soft 'ouch' and the closing of my eyes, and opened them shortly after someone hugged me from the back of my shoulders. But I was still sleepy, so I couldn't react to the sudden change in position and simply went with the flow. My eyesight and hearing were able to returned back to normal though. So thankfully, I was able to clearly see who was in front of me, who was at the back of me, and who was currently speaking.

"Ah! Myu-chan! You didn't have to hit her! And with that scepter of yours at that..." a voice who I knew belonged to Rei-chan exclaimed.

"Hmph! I'm sure it didn't hurt that much. And besides, she was starting to fall asleep. If I hadn't woken her up, she would have collapsed onto the floor, which would hurt more than me hitting her." Camus-senpai replied as he looked away with his eyes closed and eyebrows knitted together in irritation. From what he said, I could immediately understand what was going on. He hit me with his scepter, which was probably where the pain on my head came from. Rei-chan rested his chin on my head, as Camus-senpai turned to us with his eyes already open. He was about to say something when his eyes locked with mine. I looked away after we stared at each other for a while, and shifted my eyes to look at him again as he spoke.

"Be thankful, woman. You could have hit your head harder than I did if I hadn't woken you up."

I blushed in embarrassment, as I nodded and expressed my gratitude with a soft 'thank you'. I stared at my feet as Rei-chan answered back to what he just said.

"But Myu-chan! You could have just caught her to avoid her from hitting her head on the floor! So hitting her wasn't really necessary. And plus, there are other ways to wake up a person, not just by hitting using a scepter."

By that time, I was completely awake, and knew where their current conversation was going. I looked up at Rei-chan to see him pouting, but seen saw him smiling as he noticed me look at him. He let go of me and waited for Camus-senpai's reply, but not before giving my head a pat. A sigh was heard coming from Mikaze-senpai, as Camus-senpai continued his argument with Rei-chan.

"Well, your method of waking the woman up wasn't really effective."

"Well you weren't patient enough! She was starting to wake up... So you didn't have to suddenly bonk her head with that scepter of yours!" Rei-chan shot back. I simply smiled as I sweat dropped, hearing Kurosaki-senpai grunt in the process. The other people around us were just there, watching Rei-chan and Camus-senpai argue with different expressions. Some were annoyed, some had the same expression I had, and some had expressions that were unreadable.

Their argument lasted for a few more minutes until Kurosaki-senpai grew impatient and said something that finally silenced the room. But the silence didn't last for long, as Camus-senpai answered back to what he exclaimed with an extremely irritated face.

"Would you two just shut up?! We've been here forever because of your unstoppable argument!"

"How many times do I have to tell you that you have exactly NO RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO?!"

"That's it..." Kurosaki-senpai shot back with a death glare. Now this wasn't the right time to anger my two seniors. They were exhausted, and it was already very late. Making them even more exhausted would mean they would just become more annoyed, making them more sensitive with their surroundings.

'Mikaze-senpai... This is probably the right time to stop them from arguing... Please.' I thought as I turned to Mikaze-senpai with a pleading look. His eyes were at first directed at my two arguing seniors until he noticed me looking at him. He sighed, and made a small nod before preparing to stop Kurosaki-senpai and Camus-senjpai's current argument. Opening his mouth, he was about to say something when Kurosaki-senpai spoke up first.

"... If it's a fight you want, then bring it on!" he exclaimed at a glaring Camus-senpai. Rei-chan looked like he knew where this was going and immediately tried to stop Kurosaki-senpai but failed.

"Now now Ran-Ran, calm down. You're just tired. Why don't you just keep quiet so Shining-san can announce the other thing he hasn't announced, k?"

"Shut up." was the reply Rei-chan received together with a glare. He immediately stepped back a little, feeling scared that he might get involved in the fight. Despite this though, he still planned to persist on stopping my two seniors when Mikaze-senpai cut him off.

"Reiji, stop. They obviously won't listen to you anyway. And you two, enough. You've been arguing for days now. This time is no different. If you want go and get this over with, I suggest you two stop arguing and keep quiet so that you won't waste everybody else's time... Let alone your own."

Silence filled the room, and only the ticking of the clock could be heard. The clock's big hand was on the number three, while it's small hand was on the number seven, meaning to say, it read '7:15'. It really was getting late, and the president has yet to announce his last announcement. The silence lasted for a few more moments until Tsukimiya-sensei broke it.

"Okay you guys! Now that your heads have cooled down, why don't we go back to the topic we were previously talking about, hm?"

"Yeah!... Wait, what was our previous topic, again?" the person I remember was Ittoki-san asked while scratching the back of his head. I was trying to recall our previous topic as well when the man I recall being Tokiya-san mentioned it.

"We were talking about Hoshikage-san, Otoya."

"Oh yeah..." Otoya-san replied, putting on a cheeky grin that was quite similar Rei-chan's afterwards. Hoshikage-san then turned to him and smiled as she said, "No, no. Forget about me. Why don't we just go to the other announcement the president was telling us about instead?"

"The lady's right. We should get to that. It seems very important, seeing as the boss couldn't wait until tomorrow to tell us." Jinguji-san added as everybody else agreed. We all then directed our attention to the president who was just there observing us with his back being supported by the backrest of the chair. We were waiting for him to say something for few more moments until some of us got impatient. And one of them was one of Mikaze-senpai's junior, otherwise known as 'Syo' if I remembered correctly.

"So... What are you waiting for? We don't have all night you know." he complained with his arms crossed on his chest. He received no reply, and yet another moment in silence has past, with only the ticking of the clock to remind us of the unstoppable time. Almost everyone was growing impatient as the president just sat there without uttering a word. Kurosaki-senpai looked like he ready to head out when the silence was finally broken by Rei-chan.

"Shining-san... Please, please tell us what you were going to tell us. The suspense is killing me!"

"You're not the only one..." Syo-san said under his breath with narrowed eyes and knitted eyebrows.

"Saotome... Can't you tell us your announcement already? I'm getting tired..." the man with very dark brown haired added with a long yawn. I sweat dropped as some people sighed at his recent gesture. As they did so, I noticed Camus-senpai sigh too and prepared to say something when he was cut off by the president who finally spoke. And in a very shocking way at that.

"Patience my good people!"

"We've been patient for long enough!" Otoya-san and Syo-san exclaimed in unison. Rei-chan laughed for a bit, but immediately turned his attention to the president.

"I was simply observing the way you act with each other in order to decide whether I should announce this to you or not. But not to worry! I have made my decision. Here it is: both idol groups here now have their own composers, and therefore will be able to produce one or more songs by the end of this month. And by first week of the next month, the two of you will have a competition against each other, whoever wins will have their second debut as a group first, and whoever loses has to go back to the academy. Make sure to do your best and good luck! That is all. Unless you have any questions or clarifications... You may go!"

The room was quiet as all the people in it were speechless and dumbfounded because of the shocking announcement. Gasps immediately filled the room as some of us attempted to speak but was cut off by the presidents added condition to the punishment of the losing group.

"Oh, and one more thing. The group who goes back to the academy only has one chance of repeating their debut. If they don't make their debut by that term... They will be kicked _permanently_ out of both the academy and agency."

That addition didn't really take it's toll on anybody because I knew for a fact that they were confident enough to think that they would be able to make their debut by that term if ever they lost. Although, of course, nobody was thinking of their group losing, and neither was I. But... I was still nervous on what was to come in a month's time.

People were still astonished because of the sudden announcement as we were all just there, staring at the president. Most expressions has still remained surprised, while some had irritated ones, and some were even able to remain calm like Mikaze-senpai, Camus-senpai and Kurosaki-senpai. But me... I was no where near calm. My breathing was uneven as I thought of myself failing to make the perfect song in order for my seniors to win. I was always one to worry, which was one of my negative traits. I've always tried to tell myself to calm down, though it never really took effect. And that wasn't the only thing about me. Not only did I lack calmness, but I lacked confidence too. I could tell that I wasn't so positive ab out this as my eyes were as wide as the whole world itself as I looked down at my feet. I was still hoping none of the things he said were true, so I listened carefully for any added statements, and there really was one... Well, more than one. It wasn't really the one I was hoping for though.

"But... President, I'm not really that much of a composer yet. You don't expect me to go against someone like Nanami-san, do you? She's too good! Please, no... I wouldn't want them to go back and repeat their academy days all over again." Hoshikage-san said as she pleaded for someone else to take her place. I shifted my eyes from her to the president as a bad feeling in me started to develop.

"Well Ms. Hoshikage, you didn't have to go through the academy to be accepted here in the Master Course so I think you'll be just fine." the president replied. Although he was speaking to Hoshikage-san, for some reason, I had this feeling that he was directing his eyes at me instead of her. But that wasn't what made my heart drop down to the bottom of my feet. It was the fact that he had just stated that Hoshikage-san had the capabilities of a professional composer, despite being new with composing. I was scared, extremely scared of what the future held, what would happen after the competition, what would happen... If I failed this assignment miserably. Frozen in place, I trembled in nervousness. I was thankful no one noticed my current state, because if they did, they would only stare at me which would make me even more nervous. I tried calming down, thinking of only happy thoughts, that I wouldn't fail my seniors and they would be able to debut as a group by the end of the year. But unfortunately, the peace forming in my mind was destroyed when the president mentioned a somehow encouraging statement.. Well, it was supposed to be encouraging, but I ended up becoming even more nervous and pressured.

"Seems like the two of you are a bit tensed up... But-! There is no need to feel that way for the reason I entrusted the two of you with this task is because both of you have immeasurable talent. The fate of you and your group is in your hands Ms. Hoshikage and Ms. Nanami."

And if that wasn't enough pressure for me, I even felt a set of eyes looking my way. Also, they weren't just any set of eyes, they were some of my seniors'. I could never imagine anyone being optimistic about this. But of course, I stood corrected. Hoshikage-san, being the confident and happy-go-lucky girl she was, smiled and replied with the utmost excitement. I, on the other hand, tried to smile as much as possible in order to hide how tense I really was. Hiding my feelings when it was needed the most wasn't a problem for me, even though I seemingly fail most of the time... Especially with Rei-chan. But this time was different. I had no time for distracting my seniors, and neither did I have time to complain about my given task.

Disrupting my line of thought, I smiled and said I'd do my best as well, hoping they'd buy it. They were all to excited and concentrated to notice, so I eventually relaxed a bit. Trying to listen to what everybody was saying, I heard Hoshikage-san bring up a very strange but reasonable question.

"Hey wait a minute... Why are you putting the weight of pressure all on us? It doesn't depend only on the song composition, does it? I mean, the voices and the presentation count too, right?"

"Of course they do!" the president replied loudly, making me flinch a bit in surprise. I turned my eyes to Hoshikage-san as she playfully pouted while putting on an irritated face. I heard some chuckles and giggles in the background, and normally I would have smiled as well because of how adorable she looked. It's just that... I couldn't find it in me to smile for real.

"Well then, why don't you put a little bit of pressure on them too, hm?" she shot back with a pretend glare. Not a moment after she spoke, the tallest among her group members or as I recall being called 'Natsuki' by Mikaze-senpai rushed to her side and hugged her until she seemed like she was out of breath. She struggled to get out of his grip, but he was simply too strong. Everyone else was either too distracted or too irritated with all the sudden commotion, so I took this as an advantage to let go of my smile for a couple of seconds. I was starting to feel dizzy again, and yet, I wasn't sleepy. The sounds around me started to become unclear as a sudden pain in my ears started to worsen every second. The sounds were muffled, but were painfully loud at the same time. I was tempted to cover my ears, although decided not to since it might attract unwanted attention. I heard people like the president speak, then his voice followed a few reactions after. Although, I wasn't really able to understand what they were talking about exactly. But my guess was that they were talking about what Hoshikage-san was saying earlier. Still feeling dizzy, I approached Tsukimiya-sensei to ask him if I could go ahead.

"Tsukimiya-sensei..." I said in a weak voice that was barely audible because of the other voices that were way louder than mine. He looked at me with question as he replied.

"Yes Haru-chan?"

I hesitated at first, thinking that he might find out what was really going on with me, but I just couldn't take the pain anymore. "I was wondering if... If I could go on ahead... Please?"

He stared at me for a while with concerned eyes as he leaned closer to my face. "Are you alright Haru-chan? You seem rather... Pale. Are you sick?"

"N-no... I'm just a bit tired. Having disabilities does have it's disadvantages. Hehe..." I reassured him as I tried to smile in order to show him that I really was fine. He narrowed his eyes in disbelief, but soon brought them back to their usual look as he allowed me to go.

"Well... Okay Haru-chan. Just tell your seniors first before going on ahead, okay?" he said with a close-eyed smile. I returned the smile with only a small one as I nodded, turning away from him after as I planned on telling my seniors what I had to. As I got closer to them, the sound got louder and my head started to hurt even more than it did a while ago. I tugged on Rei-chan's sleeve a bit to get his attention, for I was much too weak to speak another syllable. Immediately turning to me at the first tug, he leaned closer to me for a reason I didn't really know. My guess though was so that he could hear my voice better.

"What is it Ruka-chan?" he asked, moving away from the rest of the people in the room for a bit. Without looking up at him, I replied, my hand still weakly holding on to his sleeve.

"I'm... Going to go to the dorms now... If you don't mind, that is."

I looked to the side as I waited for his answer and spotted my other seniors looking our way. As I was looking at them though, my eyes managed met with theirs. Looking away the moment I realized it, I looked at Rei-chan who was motioning for my other seniors to come to where we were standing. Understanding the unsaid message, they started walking towards us. Wondering why he did so, I shifted my eyes from them to Rei-chan and found that he was looking at me too. He grinned as I turned my attention to him, putting his hand on my head in the process. I figured he was going to inform them as well, but then found out that he was going to do more than that.

"Hey you guys..." he started, turning to my seniors as he transferred his hand from my head to my shoulder, positioning me in front of them in the process. "Ruka-chan said she wants to go now. What do you say we go too? I'm pretty tired anyway."

They all nodded in agreement and was going to head for the door when Rei-chan suddenly stopped them.

"Wait! I'll just tell Shining-san." he said as he briefly explained his reason for stopping the rest of my seniors. He then turned to the direction of the president and announced that we were going back to the dorms ahead.

"Shining-san! Please excuse us. We'll be going back now. Bye you guys and nice meeting you Seira-san!"

And with that, we all headed for the door to exit the room. As we got farther and farther from the room, my eyesight started to get a bit blurry as my head started to hurt extremely. I tried not to think about the task for now since if I did, my head would most probably explode. But... I just couldn't do it. I was too nervous, tense, pessimistic, and afraid. All my emotions and feelings were mixed up. I was trying to be positive, like I always had to be. And yet, despite the fact that this was the perfect time to be optimistic, I just wasn't. Each step I took felt like one bang on my head from a hammer. I felt miserable, down, useless. All my thoughts were about what fate would do with my future life, what it would do to my seniors' lives. I was so scared that I started to tremble in fear once again. My legs were starting to give up on me, and my heart began to beat in a very fast pace. My eyesight was no more as I could only make out fuzzy looking forms in front of me as I heard nothing more than my own heartbeat.

My pace was starting to slow down as I could do nothing more than cover my ears while trembling in fear. I was able to heard a few muffled sounds, but paid no attention. Well... More like I _couldn't _pay any attention. I was trying to look for something to break my expected fall, but I didn't make it any farther. And before I knew it, I collapsed onto something that I didn't really think was the floor. I tried to speak as I clutched the part of my sweater, but my voice betrayed me as well. By that time, I was no different than a dying person as I started to drown in my own sea of misery. My whole body was growing weak every passing second, and my heart began to hurt like never before. I struggled to look towards my seniors as I thought of why I never understood the reason behind getting this depressed when it came to my seniors' feelings and welfare. But there was one thing I did know...

And that was the fact that my misery wasn't over.

* * *

**So... yeah. I know that wasn't much but... hehe. I just wanted to emphasize the new problem our Haru has so I hope you guys don't mind. ^_^"**

**And for the late update... I'M REALLY REALLY SORRY! T_T **

**That's all. Bye-bye for now. ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi! I know... It's been a very long time. My apologies... T_T And also, I'm sorry for the extreme weirdness and the extreme amount of typos. I hope you'll still be able to understand the sentences despite them... ^_^"**

**Have fun reading! :)**

* * *

Reiji's POV

"Hey Ruka-chan, you excited for the big competition? Or the... Kinda big competition?" I asked, turning my head to where I knew Ruka-chan was. I was expecting to see a cute, little girl either smiling shyly or widening her eyes in surprise but... I was wrong. Yes, the cute, little girl I was referring to was still cute and little, although she wasn't smiling nor was she eyeing me with surprise. She was covering her ears as she slowly started to collapse onto the floor.

"Ruka-chan? Ruka-chan!" I screamed as I rushed to her side, hoping I would be able to save her from hitting her body on the hard floor.

Luckily, I was able to catch her before she collided with the hard surface of the ground. I cradled her in my arms as I tried to ask if she was okay, but once I found out that she couldn't answer me no matter what she did, I immediately told her to remain quiet. Her breathing was uneven as I lifted her up and carried her bridal-style. This wasn't the first time she fainted, but this scenario was different. Suddenly, I felt panick rush over to me as I asked for help.

"Ai-Ai, Ai-Ai!" I called, pleading for him to help her.

"Reiji, calm down. I need to take a look at her while she's perfectly steady so hurry up. We're heading for her dorm." he said, taking a quick look at Ruka-chan's face in the process. Honestly, I wanted to calm down, but after seeing Ai-Ai's reaction, I lost hope of ever being able to calm down.

"But! Will she be okay?! Does she need to be taken to the hospital?! Look at her! She looks so pale and-!"

"Reiji! Shut up and start walking! She... Might not last all night." Ran-Ran said, cutting me off, his voice slowly fading with every word. And at that very second, I began increasing my pace which soon got me into brisk walking. Although I wasn't expecting anything like that from Ran-Ran, I was happy with the fact that he was starting to show more concern for Ruka-chan. But I had no time for stuff like that, so I instead concentrated on getting to Ruka-chan's dorm as fast as possible. A few moments later, another surprising thing happened. As Myu-chan caught up to me, he asked me a very _non-Myu-chan-ish_ question. He was never one to care for people, which was why this little gesture of his surprised me... In a good way.

"Does she have fever? Or any other sickness for that matter?"

"No... I don't think that's it. Honestly, I can't tell whether she's sick or if she's just really exhausted." I replied while trying my best to hide my surprise. He looked at her for a few more moments before sighing as he continued walking without saying a word. Each and every one of them was showing concern for our wonderful composer, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Why in the world are you smiling?! You shouldn't be smiling during situation like this!" Ran-Ran exclaimed out of the blue, causing my thoughts of Ruka-chan to be disrupted. I simply smirked as I said,"You wouldn't want to know that..." Narrowing his eyes, he replied with the utmost annoyance. But, of course, I meant to annoy him.

"You're right. I wouldn't want to know that. So shut up."

I chuckled, deciding that this wasn't the time to joke around. So as told, I did shut up as the rush to her room became quiet. The air started to tense up as time past with Ruka-chan showing no signs of waking up. Subconsciously increasing my pace, I walked ahead of the others and soon ended up running as I felt the coldness of her skin. Arriving at the staircase leading to the men's dorms, Ai-Ai turned and walked towards his dorm instead of following me and the rest of my companions to Ruka-chan's dorm. I immediately stopped in my tracks and looked back to see what he was planning to do, but continued my trip to her dorm that very same moment as I thought of him having good enough reason for doing so.

Passing another flight of stairs, we took a left turn and soon caught sight of Ruka-chan's dorm. Both of my hands were full because of her in my arms so I looked back for a second and silently asked Ran-Ran and Myu-chan if any of them could open the door for me. Ran-Ran was the one who did so, as he stepped aside to let me in. Spotting Ruka-chan's bed, I swiftly but gently placed her on top of it as I checked on her again to see if there were any signs of sickness. And to my relief, there was none. But what did not relieve me was the fact that the cause of her going unconscious was unknown. Trying to calm myself down, I sat on the floor beside the bed as I couldn't do anything else but look at her cute and pale face. I was just about to close my eyes a bit while waiting for Ai-Ai to arrive when a sharp and sudden pain filled a small portion of my head. Looking up, I caught sight of Myu-chan as he directed his scepter at the place of where I felt pain. I pouted, demanding an explanation on why he suddenly bonked his scepter onto my head.

"Myu-chan! What was that for?!"

He narrowed his eyes even more while he grunted in irritation. "Move you fool. I'm going to cool her head a bit. Seems like the woman has not only tired out her body but her mind as well. Now move or I'll really hit your head." he threatened, making me twitch after glaring at me one last time, he slowly placed his hand on top of Ruka-chan's forehead. A faint light blue-colored glow then appeared a moment after his hand and her forehead touched. I was so distracted by the light Myu-chan was creating that I didn't notice the door creak open. I was only able to find out Ai-Ai had arrived when he spoke.

"Camus, put this on her head. The pain will most probably ease by tomorrow morning. But, just to be sure, whoever comes back from their work tomorrow first will be the one who checks on her. So in my data, that's either Ranmaru or Camus. And if ever she still feels weak, use this medicine and replace the towel on her head. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" I replied with a close-eyed grin as he placed the medicine pack on Ruka-chan's side table. Ran-Ran merely grunted as Ai-Ai sighed, eyeing Ruka-chan in the process. Well ,actually, in the end, we all started eyeing on Ruka-chan before Ran-Ran broke the silence.

"I'm going now. We can't stay ere all night just watching her anyway." he said as he headed for the door. Ai-Ai and Myu-chan then nodded in response before following suite. I was about to go too after sneaking one last glance at the sleeping Ruka-chan when I just remembered that I had to make a note. This was so that she wouldn't freak out about why she suddenly ends up in her room. With the finished note in hand, I placed it on the table beside her bed together with the medicine Ai-Ai gave her. Heading for the door, I looked back and whispered a small 'good night', hoping Ruka-chan would have a good night's sleep.

Catching up with the others, I tried striking up a conversation. "Hey... You really think she'll be okay? I mean... What if she still feels pain even until tomorrow?" I said, not being able to get over Ruka-chan's pale-looking image. All three of them stopped dead in their tracks as they turned to look at me with their typical irritated expressions. They all just sighed without saying anything in response. But, even though showed no signs of concern, I knew and could tell from how they reacted to the situation, that they were starting to develope soft spots for Ruka-chan. I chuckled at the thought as we continued our trip back to the men's dorms in silence. It was going to be another big day tomorrow, and I figured they were pretty tired. I was no different. Which was why I decided not to tease them anymore and just bring it up again some other time.

Arriving at the designated floor, we all went into our separate rooms without saying a word. And when I got inside, my two juniors were still awake, seemingly talking about the competition and their new composer. I for one wanted to join them, but I was too tired to do so. That's why, after taking a shower, changing my clothes, and brushing my teeth, I went straight for my bed and plopped myself down on the comfy mattress. And all the while, only one person was in my mind. And that was Ruka-chan.

Camus' POV

Walking into the dorm I shared with my junior, I was met with nothing but silence. Sighing, I felt a sort of relief get into me. I was just about to sit down on my workplace when a voice suddenly resounded all around the room. I became irritated, especially at the owner of that voice. Letting out an exasperated sigh, I decided to simply ignore what the voice was saying and concentrated on what I was doing. But, it was persistent (and extremely annoying) as usual. Having had enough of the blurted out nonsense, I turned to the direction of the voice and glared at it's owner.

"Will you keep quiet, Aijima!" I ordered, becoming even more annoyed by the minute. My junior was a prince, and I of course, knew that. But, I had no intentions of giving him special treatment. Especially because he was a very rude, irritating, and irresponsible fool who doesn't even look worthy of being a prince.

"Geez... I was just asking you what happened to your composer. You're such a hot head. I can't believe you sometimes..." he replied, not looking the least bit tired. This was obviously one of those days where he was in the mood to continue an argument with me. In my case though, I was in no mood to argue or to even speak a word. But this peasant just wouldn't shut up. So I had no choice but to answer back, or I would look like a fool who didn't care about his dignity. And with a grunt, I said what I wanted to, not bothering to listen to whatever he had to say next. Well... At least, I _tried _to.

"That is none of your business. You don't need to know every single thing in this world. So why don't you just stop being a nuisance and hold that tongue of yours."

It was silent a few moments after. So I was thinking that he finally gave up. But no... He was far from done.

"You didn't even notice that she was starting to weaken during the time we were in Saotome's office! What kind of senior are you supposed to be?"

"And? She's not your group's composer, she's my group's. You don't need to know what happens to her, and I don't even care whether you think you need to or you just want to. And if you have so much concern for the woman, then why don't you just approach her yourself? Don't ask me about whatever happened to her because I clearly have no intention of telling you." I replied back, assuming that he had no more to say. Although, again, I was wrong.

"So what... You don't even know what happened to your own composer? Heh... You really do make me laugh. Bragging about the fact that you're a count and all when your image is nothing close to one." he said as his lips slowly started to form a smirk. I was getting even more exhausted by just looking at him. He had no idea who he was talking to. As I knitted my eyebrows and tightened the grip around my scepter, a vein popped up the side of my forehead. This argument was useless, and we were going no where. But that last sentence was crossing the line.

Being a count developed each of my senses, even the sixth one. I'm able to notice many things, and that time wasn't an exception. What I knew was the exact opposite of what Aijima assumed. I knew everything that was going on with her at that time, during Saotome's discussion. I noticed and knew perfectly well that there was something wrong with her. I just had no intention of confronting her. She was trying to hide the fact that she was tired, and I was just trying to help her. Mikaze did the same, having noticed her unstable condition before I did. And as we were simply paying attention to whatever she had plans of doing, we waited for her to excuse herself. When she did, we knew she had reached her limit, and that she wouldn't be able to make it to the dorms. Predicting that she would collapse sooner or later, Mikaze silently told me what to do once she was in her dorm already and also for tomorrow, when I arrive from my duties. Come the time she fainted, we weren't surprised anymore. She has fainted more than once, with the cause being not only physical exhaustion, but also mental exhaustion. She was weak, body and mind, or in other words, she was sensitive. That was exactly why she became nervous easily, which resulted to pressure or stress, then fatigue. I knew everything that was happening to that woman, and this fool right here before me should have thought about his standing in the situation first before blurting out such words.

"WHAT?! How dare you speak to the count like that! You have no right to comment about me like that when you don't even know what's going on inside my brain! You don't know what I know, and therefore, you can never assume anything like that about me! Although, being the fool that you are, I understand now that your persistence can never be held back for long. Which is why you should just SHUT THAT MOUTH OF YOURS AND STOP BOTHERING ME!"

After having exclaimed that, I started heading for the bathroom, assuring myself that that knocked some sense into him. But, as I said so myself, his persistence can never be held back for long. And for the third time around, he answered back to me. I successfully ignored him at first, but later on couldn't hold it in anymore the moment something hit my back. It was a pillow, and that fool just had to throw it at my direction. I was tired, my mind having a lot of thoughts. I was starting to get angry with the large amount of delays I was receiving. And because of that, I threw the pillow back at him, took my scepter, and surrounded him with cold wind together with frost. Resounding a loud 'hmph' that was loud enough for him to hear, I continued my previous doing which was going to the bathroom. Entering the said room, I took a shower and later brushed my teeth after getting dressed and brushing my hair. A few minutes later, I got out of the bathroom and went straight for my bed in order to rest my head and sleep. But, not before checking to see if Aijima. Contented with the fact that he was, I climbed up my bed and laid down, closing my eyes in the process. And before I knew it, I fell asleep.

* * *

**Next day**

Waking up with a tiny bit of exhaustion still circulating all throughout my body, I pushed my upper body up and away from the mattress as I switched my position in order to let my feet feel the touch of the warm carpet. After finding my slippers and putting them on, I went straight for the kitchen, not bothering to see if Aijima was already awake or not. But, of course, I did my daily morning routine first. As I finished preparing my breakfast, I thought of the woman for a bit. Knowing her condition, she should be awake by now but still unable to move. Although, it wouldn't surprise me either if she wasn't awake yet. I then realized that I was thinking of her too much and immediately tried to block all thoughts about her. I wasn't that successful though. I soon wondered on why that woman affected me so much. She was just an ordinary woman with nothing but clumsiness. I couldn't even think of anything special about her, not even her composition skills were special. And yet... For once, I was showing a bit of concern for her... Someone else other than the queen. And I wasn't really liking the idea. But, either way, I wasn't really all that negative with the idea. Sighing, I put the plates and utensils I used on the sink and decided to wake up that useless, good-for-nothing peasant.

"Aijima. Aijima... AIJIMA!" I called out as I started getting irritated all over again. I then realized that he wasn't going to wake up with simply just calling out to him, so I instead hit his head with my scepter. I knew I hit him harder than I should have, but it was for the sake of waking him up instantly. And I really did expect him to wake up _instantly _like he was now.

"Ack! Camus you _uncountly-like _weirdo! What'd you do that for?!" he exclaimed as he shot up from his previous lying position. I grunted back, making my irritation as obvious as possible without having to blurt out anything else. I was much too annoyed to speak a word to this fool. He simply pouted as he stroked his head in order to ease the pain. Planning to turn to the direction of the door in content, I let out a soft 'hmph'. I was just about to start walking away from the unworthy prince's bed when I noticed his figure slowly disappearing from the side of my eye. I switched my position back to his direction again as what he as doing processed into my brain. And in a blink of an eye, I screamed at the top of my lungs as ice-blue smoke started to surround me.

"AAIJIMAAAA! HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY MY ORDERS!"

Right after, I smacked his head once again, using twice as much force before walking towards the door with my scepter still in hand. And with all of my strength put into my arm and hand I shut the door. A loud 'bang' was then resounded all around the hallway. But despite the loudness of that bang, I was still able to hear my junior's loud complaints from outside the dorm.

'Ugh... He really is the biggest fool I have ever met.' I thought in aggravation. As I passed the hallway of the rest of the dorms, I came across the staircase leading to the woman's dorm. A thought then caught my mind. It was foolish for me at first, but, considering my current situation, which was the fact that I was much too early to go to work, I decided to check on her for a while to see if her condition has improved. I wasn't one to serve anyone else but the queen, although this was an exception. I did not care much for the woman, though since I am her senior, I will also be the one responsible for her for the time being.

'This woman better be thankful...' I thought to myself as I climbed the stairs and past the hallway. And after arriving at the door with the woman's name on top of it, I turned the knob of that door and opened it without knocking. It wasn't necessary anyway, seeing as she wasn't in the condition to mind her surroundings at the moment. I even guessed that she would still be asleep, but I thought wrong. The woman was awake, but did not look like in the best of conditions. With a piece of paper in hand, which I assumed was Kotobuki's note to her, she turned her head at my direction the moment she noticed my presence. She had eyes that were slightly widened, but not as widened as it was usually when she was surprised. I sighed as I walked towards her, taking the seat from her working area and placing it beside her bed in the process. She simply stared at me as she tilted her head to her side. Arching an eyebrow, I silently asked her what she wanted. Her eyes grew a little more before she switched them to another direction then back to me. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but closed it after, seemingly hesitant to say whatever she had to. Again, I sighed as I asked her a question with narrowed eyes.

"Do you want to say something?"

She nodded a nod which was almost unnoticeable before saying what she wanted to. And to my surprise, it was nothing important. Although, what followed that was the more important one.

"G-good... Morning." she greeted, stammering as she did so. I did not reply to that, but simply let out a soft 'hm' as an answer. It then became silent again before the woman broke it by asking me if I needed anything from her. She started mustering up enough energy first before asking me. Then, she was able to let out her voice. Fortunately, it was loud and clear enough for me to hear and understand.

"Camus-senpai... Do you... Need something?"

I shook my head as I answered, "No. But you need something from me." She tilted her head as a soft 'huh?' came out of her mouth. Her eyes looked up as her finger made it's way to the side of her lips, as if she was trying to recall a certain event. Seemingly not able to remember anything, she replied, "I do?"

I narrowed my eyes at her, before stating the obvious. "Yes. I'm here to give you your medicine and tell you what to do if ever certain events happen. Do you even know what happened to you last night?" I asked, guessing that she was simply going to answer that she fainted. And, of course, I was right.

"Um... I fainted a little after we left the president's office. And then... That's all I remember."

"Yes, you fainted, for the second time." I said with my arms and legs crossed as her facial expression immediately switched to an ashamed one. A few moments after, she mumbled a small 'sorry' before I continued what I was saying. "And I suggest you take better care of yourself. Also, I'd like to know what you think made you faint exactly?"

The room then grew silent for a while as the woman was thinking of what to reply to my recently asked question. As she was recalling any even or cause of her fainting, I took this chance to observe her and look for any signs of pain. She seemed to be fine, and was just weak at the moment because of the recent cause of fatigue. All in all though, she seemed fine. I was just about to disregard that thought for the time being when I suddenly noticed her wince for a reason that was yet to be revealed to me. And so, without thinking twice, I asked if she had any bruises or wounds, where she got them. Not bothering whether she had already an answer to my other question or not.

"Woman..." I started, startling her a bit in the process. I then opened my mouth to continue when she decided to speak first. But, being the person I was, I cut her off as to not waste time.

"Oh! S-sorry... Wait... I think I know now. I'm so sorry. I'm just not sure if-"

I sighed, knowing she had assumed wrongly of me calling her attention. "No fool, I wasn't talking about that. I was just going to ask you if you had any wounds or bruises." I explained, making her confused in the process. Well, actually, I was sure she knew what I was talking about. She was just trying to hide whatever current condition she's in.

"H-huh? No... I don't think I have any." she replied as she looked down, uncertainty evident in her tone. Even her gestures were telling me that she wasn't speaking the truth. I doubted her reply, and immediately demanded for her to tell me the truth. I was never one to give mercy to liars, especially ones who seemingly lie for an unreasonable excuse or none at all.

"Hmph. Don't lie to me woman. Tell me the truth." I blurted, somehow surprising her with my sudden judgment. She tried convincing me into believing that she was telling the truth, but I bought none of them. And finally, after some time, she gave up and told me er real condition. I wasn't really surprised with the fact that she was wounded, it was the cause.

"I... Okay. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry... For lying. Yes, I do... Have a wound. I got it because I fell on the floor when I was trying to walk to the bathroom. I thought I was okay but... Seems like I wasn't." she admitted, her voice close to inaudible.

"When did this happen?" I asked, wondering why she was even able to wake up earlier than predicted.

"I'm not really sure... I think it was midnight." she replied, switching her eyes from the ceiling to me. I still wanted to ask her other questions, but decided to save them for later, considering the fact that it was almost time for me to go. So, instead of beating around the bush, I at once ordered her to show me where it was in order for me to know if she treated it properly or if she treated it at all. I also wanted to know whether or not it was severe.

"Hm... I see. Where is it?"

"H-huh? Oh... Uh... It's on my left knee." she answered, not showing any signs of movement. I narrowed m eyes at her once again as I knew she didn't get my point.

"Well? Show it to me." I demanded in slight irritation.

"E-eh? Show you what?" she asked, seemingly faking the fact that she didn't know what I was talking about. Getting even more irritated, I answered her question as I stated the obvious.

"Your wound."

"Oh my wound! Hehe... Uh... Okay then." she replied, laughing awkwardly in the process as she soon got intimidated by the look I was giving her. She grew stiff the moments her eyes met mine, and soon enough mumbled an apology that was almost as soft as a whisper. She became hesitant and embarrassed at first, but in time showed it to me after a few glares were thrown at her. She struggled with switching her position, so I helped her by holding on to her ankle and arm as I slowly twisted her as to make her body's position directed to mine. I was about to lift the ankle hole of her pajamas' left portion to the point above the knee when she instantly stopped me from doing so by holding my hand and placing it below her's. I grunted in annoyance, asking why she stopped me afterwards. Her face had a faint touch of pink, so I assumed she was embarrassed. Of course, I questioned this at first, but decided to let her be after she said that she would be the one to do it. She was just about to lift my hand off her ankle when she suddenly realized what she was doing. Promptly letting go, the faint touch of pink on her face darkened into a bright shade of red as she looked away, whispering yet another apology.

Upon seeing the wound, I felt a slight sense of relief as it wasn't that deep. I was then puzzled on why I felt such emotions towards the woman, but immediately shrugged the thought off and asked her if she had something to treat this, seeing as she hasn't treated it yet.

"Do you have any medicine for this?"

She thought for a while, before replying with a nod and some guidelines as to where I could find it. "I have a first aid kit. It's in my closet, just below my hanged clothes."

Standing up in order to get the said first aid kit, I nodded and headed for the closet. And as I glanced at her from time to time, all the while, she was just looking at her feet a she hugged and brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. When I found the first aid kit, I walked back to her and started to treat her wound. Letting go of both knees, she intertwined both of her hands together as she simply watched me work on healing her wound. I saw her looking a bit weaker than she was a while ago, and asked her if she felt any more pain.

"Is there any other bruise you want to show me?"

She shook her head without saying anything. I sighed, not feeling contented with just that. "Do you feel alright?" I asked, not minding the fact that I was starting to show my little concern for the woman. This particular question though, caught her off guard, judging from the fact that she was surprised. But her surprised expression soon turned into a calmed one as she narrowed her eyes a little to match with her soft smile, nodding in the process.

"I'm alright Camus-senpai. Thank you for asking."

"Hmph. Well, you should be thankful." I said, simply accepting her answer as I continued treating her wound. I was just about to put the ointment back when I noticed a few other small bruises and scars on her leg. Out of curiosity, I asked her where she got those bruises and scars. I was assuming it was because of her clumsiness at first, but concluded that the other scars were much to deep to be caused from simply tripping or falling. Unless she really was... Extremely clumsy.

"Where did you get these bruises?" I said, startling her in the process.

"Oh... Hehe... I tend to bump things sometimes when I walk since I can't see everything around me. And... Uh... I'm also very clumsy." she responded, looking a bit ashamed as I sighed at that last remark.

"And the scars?" I continued, finishing the last dabs of medicine on her knee. She grew silent for a few moments as she hesitated on telling the cause of those scars. She looked sad, as if she remembered a painful memory, wich I assumed, was the cause of those scars. Although I knew this was a seemingly sensitive topic, I waited for her answer which came after a few more moments with her in silence. As she looked at me without making eye contact, she smiled an obviously forced smile before telling me a little about her past and the origin of her scars.

"You see... Well... I did tell you about the time I experienced being in a school for people without disabilities, right? And... I also recall telling you... The reason why I left that school. I left there because I was being bullied by some of the kids there, and some of them even hurt me physically, which then resulted to these scars. It was really scary back then... I really was extremely sensitive, and had exactly no chance of being able to fight back. Even until now, I have to bear the weight of being useless and unworthy of anything. I can't even do a single thing right. I always cause trouble for you and the rest of my seniors, I'm always unreliable and irresponsible, I'm probably even delaying you from going to work by just saying these things."

I became surprised with the woman's words, and immediately reflected on what I've said to her back then. And for some reason, I regretted not apologizing to her sooner. But, being the man with much dignity and confidence, I did not apologize to her, but instead let her be. Whatever she said, I made sure I listened to them. We just sat there in silence before I remembered that I had to check the time. I usually would have left by now, though, I decided to spare a bit more time for her. I was then about to break the silence when she broke it first. And her words had surprised me, yet again.

"Camus-senpai... I'm sorry for the trouble I've been causing you. Thank you so much for the things you have done for me up to this moment where you are just here, listening to the unnecessary things said by me. Although, I am good for nothing, there is one thing I wouldn't want to do, and that is to let you and the rest of my seniors down. I know that I haven't been the very likable type, and I know that I'm the last person you'd want for a composer, but... I'm afraid I just can't let the four of you go. I care for the four of you very much, for you guys were the only ones who acknowledged me since my grandmother and adviser, Tsukimiya-sensei. I want all of you to be happy, which is why I will promise to do my very best in order for the four of you to become successful idols, and so that you guys will win the competition. Now, this seems very unbelievable, but, I'm telling the truth. And I will also tell the rest of them my feelings when I have the chance. Please believe me when I say I'll never want to let you down... Please... I... I just want to make the four of you happy. I... Also want to prove that I can do something right, that I can be a good enough composer. Can I... Do that?"

I stared down at her for a moment as I tried to think of what to say while hiding the surprise I was feeling. I had no answer to her question, and I wasn't sure on what reply I would give her. So I instead simply replied the most honest answer I could think of.

"Hm... I don't know. I haven't seen the capacity of your potential yet." I said in a voice that said I didn't care much for what she was currently talking about. She narrowed her eyes as she looked down for a bit before looking up and straight into my eyes for the first time. Her eyes held persistence, and as well as the bravery she used in asking me one last question before I had to leave. They weren't as weak as they were before, and for some reason, this made me learn to respect her a little bit more.

"But... What do you think, Camus-senpai? Based from what you've seen me do..." This question, in particular, was ale to catch me off guard, as I widened my eyes subconsciously. She was also able to notice this and looked away, a bit embarrassed with how she was currently acting. If I didn't think about my answer thoroughly, I would have said that majority of my opinion would be that she wouldn't be able to do that. But, that wasn't my answer. I tried to think of some basis I'd be able to use for my answer and immediately remembered the sheet music I saw on her table from the side of my eye. And without any second thoughts, I stood up, went to the table, and got the piece of paper which I assumed was the one with the song she was composing for QUARTET NIGHT's next song. I was just about to face the woman when my eye caught the notes on the sheet music. I examined the composition for a bit and admitted that it really was an impressive piece. It was quite unusual for me to say so, but I didn't bother myself with it.

'Seems like I have underestimated this woman...' I thought, smiling to myself at the fact that this woman really had the capabilities of a professional composer. I then turned to her, not bothering the small smile I had.

"Well... It looks like you are a professional composer. I don't even understand why you cower in front of people when you have such capabilities." I said to the woman with awe displayed on her face. I knew she was going to be surprised, and so I just shook my head as I approached her.

"Wha... What?" she mumbled as I got closer to her.

"Seems like I've thought too lowly of you. Your composing really does impress me." I started, pausing for a while before continuing. "Although there is a possibility that you could have asked somebody else to make this, I will assume that you didn't because if you really were to do so, I would find out."

She just stared at me, opening her mouth then closing it when nothing came out. She wasn't able to say anything until moments later. And when she was finally able to speak, her words were not much, but were simply words of appreciation and thanks.

"R-really? Um... Thank you... For saying so. I really... appreciate it." she uttered, smiling together with closed eyes and pink cheeks. I thought of replying back to her recent statement, but soon forgot about it when she spoke again.

"I've... Never seen you smile like that before... It looks good on you." she commented, looking down as she continued to smile in the process.

"Well, I wouldn't really consider it a smile, but smirk would be a better choice of words. And plus, you saw me have that kind of smirk last night, during the time we were in Saotome's office." I answered, making her chuckle a bit in the process. Wondering why she reacted that way, I asked her, "Is there anything funny about what I said?". She shook her head, explaining the reason for her sudden chuckles.

"No... It's just that, your smile at that time was different, and I just thought that seeing a different side of you was a good thing. I just ended up chuckling because of how happy I am."

I narrowed my eyes at her, thinking that it was quite foolish to be happy over someone else's smile. I was going to comment on what she said when she, again, spoke before I did.

"Camus-senpai... Is that song... Good enough for your group? For... The rest of my seniors?" she asked, switching the topic back to the previous one we were in. I was quite surprised with her extreme consciousness, but did not question it nonetheless.

"I suppose this is good enough. It really is an impressive composition though. So... Judging from our standards, this song is good enough to reach them." I answered, resulting to her sudden change in facial expression. She was surprised at first, but soon smiled again as she thanked me for my said complement.

"That's a relief... I was worried none of you would like the song. I was also worried that it wouldn't stand a chance against Hoshikage-san's song. But, thanks to you, I feel a bit more relaxed now. Thank you... Again."

I nodded, having gotten used to her many expressions of gratitude. Never have I encountered such a person before, which was why it was easy for me to assume that she wasn't one of the people who'll be able to survive in the world of professionals. But now, I have come to realize that my assumptions were all wrong. This, in itself was enough for her to earn an apology from me, but I wanted to continue testing her a bit more. She still had much prove with Mikaze and Kurosaki if she wanted apologies from them as well. Which was why I have decided to make her wait until she has shown and done all she could possibly do.

"Well, you should thank me, because I'm not really one to complement others, so consider this as one of the rare occasions you'll be having with me. But, I hope you know that I'm not easy to impress." I warned, once again smirking at the orange-haired woman in front of me. She blinked, not once, but twice, seemingly confused and surprised at the same time. Showing a bit of nervousness, her eyes traveled down to her feet but soon found it's way up again as she smiled, following a simple word of thanks after. I was honestly amused with how she could smile so much despite what she's been through. And even though I was and still am being quite harsh to her, she still manages to put up an earnest enough smile before me. I have never met such a woman like this before, one who doesn't simply smile at people who are pleasing to the eyes. Although I knew almost nothing about who this woman truly is, and I have no intention or interest in finding out... _Yet_, I have seen with my own eyes that she was without doubt not that type of human being. This woman really was getting awfully interesting, I even decided to give her a bit of respect mainly because of that.

And because of fussing about her a little too much, I suddenly remembered the first question I asked her about. I was going to bring that topic up again when I noticed the time and realized that it was past the usual time I leave for work. Planning to just save that for later this afternoon, I finally announced to her that it was time for me to go.

"I must be going now, seems like I've stayed here longer than I planned thanks to that wound of yours. You should be grateful for what I've done." I said, sounding quite irritated due to being reminded of the extra help I had to give her. I wasn't angry with it though. It was just natural for me to complain about serving someone other than the queen, even if it was just for now.

"I'm sorry Camus-senpai. Don't worry, I am grateful, very. Thank you again for coming by in order to... Check on me. Oh and, please have a safe trip to work." she answered, apparently trying to stand up from her sitting position but failed. I arched an eyebrow at her, puzzled over why she was doing so. Having known that her condition wasn't completely well yet, I stopped her from making any more movements.

"What are you doing, you fool? You are not in the proper state to stand up yet. Do you want to get another wound?" I asked as I slowly fixated her body back to it's original position. She then let out an awkward laugh, remembering only now of her physical condition. "Hehe... Sorry Camus-senpai. I guess I forgot about that. But, my body doesn't really hurt anymore so I thought that... I..." she replied, her voice growing softer and softer as I started to narrowed my eyes at the foolish woman before me. And after a few more moments of simply staring at her with minimal annoyance, I let go of her two ankles and shoulder, pivoting and heading for the door in the process, ignoring the questioning face she had. Getting ahold of the doorknob and twisting it, I was about to push open the door when I heard my name being called by the owner of the dorm I was exiting. Turning to look at the woman yet again, I raised my right eyebrow in question. She smiled an apologetic smile in return as she said what she had planned to in an uncomfortable-sounding voice.

"Um... Thank you, again, gor helping me. And uh... Please also say thank you to the rest for me... If you want to, that is. I mean, if you really don't want to, it's fine. You really don't have to if..." she stopped, seeing as I, for I don't know how many times, narrowed my eyes at her. She then looked away, her face having a light shade of red in the process. I sighed, deciding to just do what she has asked me to.

"Hm... I'll think about it. Now, will you let me leave?" I asked in sarcasm. Her eyes instantly widened together with her smile, looking a bit more embarrassed than she was after, saying, "Really? Thank you so much! Oh uh... Yes, yes, of course. Er... Good bye then."

I let out an audible enough 'hm' in reply as I walked to the door, halting as I reached for the knob. I was intending to say something to her, but decided not to, seeing that it was no longer necessary. And with that, I exited without uttering a word, suddenly remembering that there were many things that I have yet to accomplish.

Haruka's POV

I watched as Camus-senpai left the room, leaving me pondering on the words he previously said to me. Honestly, there were a lot of emotions flooding within me, that time when he told me the song I made was good enough. Surprise, embarrassment, happiness, gratitude, all of these feelings, I felt during that time, that small amount of time I spent together with him. And while I was simply listening to whatever he had to tell me, I have come to realize that he wasn't as scary as I thought he was. He was still scary, but... Not as much as I pictured. I really felt a sense of relief, having discovered how he really acts like when you don't disappoint him too much.

'Seems like I've learned something new about my seniors... And of all people, I wasn't expecting Camus-senpai to drop by. But then, because of that, I was able to find out a bit about how he is when he's all calm and... Not that infuriated. And right now, I'm happy, because of that. I've learned a bit about Mikaze-senpai and Kotobuki-senpai, and it seems like today, I was able to get to know Camus-senpai a little. Now all I haven't really talked to is...'

"... Kurosaki-senpai." I whispered, finishing my thoughts softly uttering his name. I wasn't really expecting him to visit me in my dorm or so much as talk to me, so I was just going to wait for the right opportunity and start a conversation with him myself. Promising myself that I would do as stated, I decided to lay down for a while and recruit some of my lost energy. And, as I closed my eyes, I thought about all the things that happened a while ago and suddenly remembered the long speech I said in front of Camus-senpai. My eyes then shot up as the thought came to mind as I felt embarrassment rush through me. I felt my face heat up and immediately buried my face in my blanket, silently scolding myself in the process.

"Oh... Why did I have to say that? No wait... I didn't have to. I just did."

* * *

**Okay... I hope that was enough for the so many days I made you guys go through in order to wait for this chapter. Well, I know it isn't but... I just felt like I had to cut the chapter there. ;) Hope you enjoyed the CamHaru moments. (but then again... It really wasn't much... But anyway... Hehe) Bye-bye! ^_^**


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